Romeoville, Ill. – The Missouri S&T Lady Miner softball squad kept its Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament hopes alive by sweeping Lewis 9-0 in six innings and 7-3 on Friday afternoon in Romeoville, Ill. The Lady Miners (21-30, 13-15) moved to within of Bellarmine and Indianapolis for the eighth and final playoff spot in next weekend's tournament in East Peoria, Ill.

The Knights swept Maryville on Friday while the Greyhounds split at Quincy.

Game 1 – Lady Miners 9, Lewis 0 six innings
S&T took advantage of some sloppy Flyer (24-25, 12-16 GLVC) defense to score three runs in the third inning in the opener. Olivia Young (Milstadt, Ill./Belleville Township) reached on an error by the left fielder which allowed Rachel Aiardo (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) to score the game's first run. Savannah Fedorchak (Oakville, Mo./Oakville) followed with a double to left center to score Young and then Hannah Franceschini (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield Central) singled to center scoring Fedorchak.

The Lady Miners added three more in the fourth on a two-run double from Abby Klein (Kansas City, MO/Staley) and Young followed with a single to score Klein to make it 6-0. S&T put the game away in the sixth scoring three more times. Carley Hamann (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln Way North) had an RBI single to score Young with her second run of the game and then Ashley Rausch (Washington, Iowa/Washington) hit a two-run double to left center scoring Fedorchak and Hamann.

S&T banged out 10 hits in the opener and was led by Fedorchak and Hamann with two apiece. That was all the run support Avery English (Carterville, Ill./Carterville) needed as she held the Lewis offense to just six hits in the opener. She struck out four and walked only one to improve to 10-15 on the season.

Game 2 – Lady Miners 7, Lewis 3
In the backend of the doubleheader the Lady Miners sent 11 batters to the plate in the first inning and scored five runs on five hits. Klein got the scoring started with a single to score Monica Weiss (St. Louis, Mo./Marquette ) and Young followed with a two-run shot to right center to make it 3-0. S&T loaded the bases and Kelly Heckemeyer (St. Elizabeth, Mo./St. Elizabeth) delivered an RBI single up the middle to score Fedorchak. Rausch reached on a fielder's choice allowing Carley Hamann (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln Way North) to score the fifth run of the frame.

The Flyers got a run back in the home half of the first on an RBI single from Sarah DeMasi which scored Kaylee Prieto.

The Lady Miners answered back in the top of the second with two runs on Heckemeyer's double to left which scored Klein and Young to make it 7-1.

Lewis cut the lead to 7-3 in the third as Prieto hit a two-run homer to left with no one out in the inning.

Kati Viets (Sweet Springs, Mo./Sweet Springs) made the lead hold up as she held the Flyer bats in check the rest of the way to improve to 10-14 on the year. She allowed three runs, two earned, on six hits with a walk and a strikeout in 6.2 innings pitched. Ashley Hill (Centralia, Mo./Centralia) got the final out of the game.

S&T outhit Lewis 9-6 in the nightcap and was led by Klein, Young and Heckemeyer with two hits each.

The Lady Miners conclude the regular season on Saturday morning when they take on Wisconsin-Parkside in a doubleheader beginning at 9 a.m.