WARRENSBURG, Mo. – A pair of big innings in the middle of the contest helped Missouri S&T pick up a sweep of its Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader Friday over Missouri-St. Louis, as the Miners picked up wins by scores of 6-5 and 8-3 in the games played at the University of Central Missouri.

The Miners used a three-run fifth inning to build a lead that it would hold onto in the opener, then followed up a two-run fourth  in game two with four runs in the fifth in the nightcap to take the lead for good in the second contest to complete the sweep.

In game one, S&T grabbed the lead in the opening inning when Adam Richter (Breese, IL/Mater Dei) followed Kaleb Reid (Smithville, MO/Smithville)'s one-out single with his first career home run as a Miner, hitting Alex Ottman's pitch over the fence in right to give the Miners a 2-0 lead.

After the Tritons cut the lead in half in the top of the third, the Miners got the run back in the bottom half when Matt Knickerbocker (Bayfield, CO/Bayfield) tripled to open the inning and scored on a sacrifice fly by Eli Miller (Shelbyville, IL/Shelbyville).

In the fifth, a leadoff walk to Jack DeGarmo (Liberty, MO/Liberty North) got things started, then Knickerbocker singled and a double steal put the runners at second and third.  Miller followed with a hit down the left field line to bring home both runners, then Miller scored himself on a one-out single by Richter.

UMSL drew closer by scoring three times in the seventh – all unearned runs – and another in the eighth and had the tying run at third, but Dalton Erger (Imperial, MO/Seckman) struck out pinch-hitter Jacob Monti to get out of the inning.

Stuart Martin (Ajax, ON/Ajax) took over on the mound in the ninth after a leadoff hit and got the final three outs to preserve the victory for Trent Green (Perryville, MO/Perryville), who scattered eight hits and struck out five in 6 2/3 innings of work.

Zach Bracken (Berthoud, CO/Berthoud) had three hits in game one for S&T, while Richter and Knickerbocker had two apiece as each team finished with 10 hits apiece.

Game two saw the Tritons take the initial lead with two runs in the first and it appeared they would carry that lead into the fifth, but a two-out error allowed a run to score and kept the inning alive for the Miners.  Moments later, Matt Reschke (Darien, IL/Hinsdale South) doubled into the gap in left center to score Bracken to tie the contest.

An inning later, the Miners took the lead with some timely hitting and a costly UMSL error along the way.

Knickerbocker singled to open the fifth, then after a sacrifice bunt, Reid drew a walk and Richter singled through the right side of the infield to bring home Knickerbocker.  Reid advanced to third on the play and with the infield drawn in, Lucas Swindle (Weldon Spring, MO/Lutheran-St. Charles) hit a ball that went through the legs of the shortstop to score the second run of the inning.

S&T wasn't finished in the fifth, as Justus Nelson (Plymouth, MN/Robbinsdale Armstrong) executed a squeeze play to score Richter and Bracken got another run home on a chopper up the first base line.

The Miners added two more in the sixth after UMSL's Cooper Vinz hit a solo homer to lead off the Tritons' half of the frame, as Reid and Swindle drove in the runs.

Anthony Garza (Belleviille, IL/Belleville East) went the distance on the mound for the Miners to pick up the win, giving up six hits and striking out two  for his third complete game of the season.  Garza set down 11 straight Tritons during one stretch of the contest.

Richter had three hits and Knickerbocker two as the Miners outhit the Tritons 11-6 in the nightcap.

Missouri S&T (23-18, 13-9 GLVC) and UMSL (15-25, 9-13 GLVC) are scheduled to play a doubleheader at UCM – where the series is being played due to the rainy weather in the Rolla area this weekend – on Saturday starting at noon.