Kirksville, Mo. – The Missouri S&T softball team earned a hard-fought split in its Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) doubleheader against the Truman State Bulldogs this Monday (March 26) at the Truman Softball Park, falling 9-1 in game one before bouncing back to take a 9-7 victory in the nightcap.

In the opener, Truman State overcame an early one-run deficit with a five-run fifth inning sandwiched between a pair of Bulldog runs in both the fourth and sixth frames to notch the convincing win and snap the Lady Miners' four-game winning string. 

Unlike the series opener, the outcome in the nightcap was in S&T's favor as the Lady Miners led from the start en route to a 9-7 triumph.  S&T's offense  came alive as the Lady Miners tallied a combined seven runs in the first three innings, including four in the second.  However, S&T utilized a two-run sixth to preserve the victory.         

Missouri S&T, who have won five of its last six games, upped its 2018 season record to 17-12 overall and 7-2 in the GLVC.  S&T started out the month of March losing three of its initial four contests but the Lady Miners have been on a tear ever since with victories in nine of their last 12 encounters to date.  

On the other side, the split gives Truman State a 13-9 overall record to go with a 4-4 league ledger.      

Game 1 - Truman State 9, Missouri S&T 1

Missouri S&T's four-game win streak came to an abrupt halt as Truman State erupted for a combined nine runs in the last three innings to overcome an early 1-0 deficit and go on to post a 9-1 win.    

The Lady Miners got on the scoreboard first in the top half of the second inning when junior outfielder Carley Hamann (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln Way North)'s one-out double down the left field line scored senior third baseman Monica Weiss (St. Louis, Mo./Marquette), who had walked to leadoff the frame and advanced to second base on a groundout.

S&T maintained its 1-0 lead until the bottom of the fourth when Truman State scored twice on a two-run RBI single from Morgan McMahan putting the hosts ahead at 2-1.  In the next inning, the Bulldogs added five more runs as the result of four hits and two Lady Miner errors to lead 7-1.  TSU tacked on two runs in the sixth as a result of a S&T miscue and finished the game with nine hits to the Lady Miners' five.

Sophomore pitcher Avery English (Carterville, Ill./Carterville) took the loss in the circle for S&T as her record dips to 12-6 on the season.  English gave up all nine Bulldog hits in a complete game effort while registering four strikeouts and issuing a walk in five-plus innings of action.  

TSU's Lauren Dale earned the victory by hurling five scoreless innings.  She also produced two strikeouts with a walk in improving her mark to 4-5 this campaign. 

Sophomore shortstop Abby Klein (Kansas City, MO/Staley) and Monica Weiss (St. Louis, Mo./Marquette) each doubled for S&T in the outing.  Weiss led the Lady Miner offensive attack with a pair of hits.  Junior outfielder Courtney Jackson (Parkville, Mo./Park Hill South) also produced one of the five hits for S&T, which stranded six runners on base in the contest.                     

Game 2 - Missouri S&T 9, Truman State 7

Missouri S&T led from start to finish as the Lady Miners jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on RBI doubles from sophomore designated player Olivia Young (Milstadt, Ill./Belleville Township) and Monica Weiss (St. Louis, Mo./Marquette).  Truman State answered with its initial run in the bottom of the opening frame on a Christa Reisinger leadoff homer run.  

In the top of the second, S&T put some distance between them and TSU with a four-run outburst on two hits.  An Abby Klein (Kansas City, MO/Staley) RBI single produced the first score with the next two coming on a single from junior first baseman Gretchen Egly (Joliet, Ill./Plainfield Central) to give the Lady Miners a 5-1 lead.  A wild pitch by Bulldog starting pitcher Nicolette Simpson allowed Olivia Young (Milstadt, Ill./Belleville Township) to reach home plate safely with S&T's sixth run of the game.

Truman State scored in the bottom of the second via a RBI sacrifice fly to get within 6-2 only to have the Lady Miners nullify the run with one of their own in the top of the third inning as freshman catcher Ashley Davis (Erie, Ill./Erie) was credited with an infield RBI single.  The Bulldogs plated two runners in the last of the third on a bases loaded hit by pitch and a fielder's choice as S&T kept hold of a 7-4 lead thru three frames.

The bottom of the fourth saw TSU narrow the gap to 7-6 as the Bulldogs scored on a wild pitch and later added another as a result of a fielder's choice.  In the sixth, S&T created some breathing room as the Lady Miners capitalized on two hits and a TSU error to score twice for a 9-6 cushion.  Olivia Young (Milstadt, Ill./Belleville Township)'s two-base RBI hit brought home Courtney Jackson (Parkville, Mo./Park Hill South), who walked to start the inning.  A successful throw to home plate by third baseman Alyssa Rivera prevented a S&T run, but junior second baseman Hannah Franceschini (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield Central) reached first base on a TSU fielding error allowing Olivia Young (Milstadt, Ill./Belleville Township) to score from third base.  A throwing miscue from S&T starting senior pitcher Kati Viets (Sweet Springs, Mo./Sweet Springs) on a bunt resulted in an unearned Bulldog run in the bottom of the sixth as the hosts closed to within 9-7.

After S&T left two runners on base in the top of the seventh, Avery English (Carterville, Ill./Carterville) was summoned in relief of Viets and retired the TSU side in order for her second save of the season.   

For S&T, Abby Klein (Kansas City, MO/Staley) and Olivia Young (Milstadt, Ill./Belleville Township) both registered a team-most three hits as the Lady Miners outhit the Bulldogs 9-8 for the game.  Young along with Gretchen Egly (Joliet, Ill./Plainfield Central) each knocked in a pair of runs for S&T, which had five batters get into the hits column.  Katie Viets tossed the first six innings and allowed eight hits, seven walks, and struck out two before yielding to English, who recorded a strikeout for the game's final out. 

Starter Nicolette Simpson threw the first three innings for Truman State and was tagged with the loss (1-2).  Alyssa Hajduk pitched the last four innings and had four strikeouts for TSU, which left 10 runners on base to match S&T's total.         

Up Next

The Lady Miners return to the S&T Softball Field in Rolla, Mo., next weekend, March 30-31, for a pair of GLVC doubleheaders.  S&T squares off against the Rockhurst Hawks Friday, March 30, as the first game commences at 12 p.m. (CT) proceeded by the nightcap at 2 p.m. (CT).  Following the two-game set, the Lady Miners wrap up the four-game weekend homestand versus the William Jewell Cardinals in twinbill with 12 and 2 p.m. (CT) start times, respectively.