ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T will look to continue its improved play into the start of its Great Lakes Valley Conference season this weekend, as the Miners will host Maryville University in its first GLVC series of the season at the S&T Ballpark.
The Miners and Saints will play doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday, with start times at noon each day. The Miners head into the weekend sporting a four-game winning streak and will look to move back over the .500 as it holds a record of 8-9 on the year against a Maryville squad that sports a mark of 8-13.
S&T, which has won five of its last six overall, swept a doubleheader last Thursday over McKendree, but the second twinbill between the teams was postponed. The Miners recorded their third straight game with at least 10 runs in the opening game of that doubleheader before rallying for three runs in the top of the seventh in game two to complete the sweep.
Cameron Burk (Nacogdoches, TX/Cushing) continues to lead the Miners at the plate with a .500 batting average that ranks second in the GLVC and owns the league's best on-base percentage at .619. Burk also leads the Miners with eight stolen bases.
Drew Aldana (El Paso, TX/JM Hanks), who has seen added playing time recently, is also hitting .500 on the year, while
Lucas Swindle (Weldon Spring, MO/Lutheran-St. Charles) checks into the week with a .424 average and leads the Miners with 18 runs batted in. Burk has driven in 11 and
Zach Bracken (Berthoud, CO/Berthoud) has knocked in 10 – including seven in a performance last Monday against Upper Iowa.
On the mound,
Anthony Garza (Belleviille, IL/Belleville East) has a 1-0 record and a 3.22 earned run average and
Dan Borek (Greenville, WI/Hortonville), who got the game one win over McKendree, is 2-3 with a 3.90 ERA. Dalton Errger, who has a 3.93 ERA, leads the staff with 22 strikeouts.
Louis Niemerg leads the Saints at the plate with a .419 average, while Drake Lubin is hitting .386 and Dalton Schumer is at .338 on the season. Schumer has also belted a GLVC-high eight home runs and driven in 18 runs, while Brennan Williams has knocked in 17.
Alec Harris has paced the pitching staff with a 3-3 record and a 4.33 ERA, with 19 strikeouts in 35 1/3 innings of work. Arcente Stone has made three starts for Maryville and has a 5.40 ERA with 15 strikeouts.
