Indianapolis, Ind. – The Missouri S&T softball team picked up a key Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) win in this Saturday's (April 28) doubleheader against highly-regarded Indianapolis as the Lady Miners topped the Greyhounds, 7-2, in game two at UIndy's Greyhound Field.  
 
The victory not only helped ease S&T's 11-1 five-inning game one setback to UIndy, but more importantly keeps the Lady Miners' in contention to earn a berth into next weekend's (May 3-5) 2018 GLVC Tournament.   The league twin bill split with UIndy marks the eighth time this season in which the Lady Miners have come away with a win in a two-game series.
 
In game one, S&T's bats were virtually silenced as the Lady Miners only could produce two hits while the Greyhounds strung together a pair of back-to-back three-run frames to open the contest and then put away the visitors with a five-run fourth-inning output.
 
S&T came out in game two on a mission as the Lady Miners tallied three runs in the second and added four more in the fifth in route to a five-run decision. Senior pitcher Kati Viets (Sweet Springs, Mo./Sweet Springs) held the Greyhounds in check with a six-hitter and sophomore outfielder Olivia Young (Milstadt, Ill./Belleville Township) generated three hits to go with three RBIs for S&T, which currently sits at 24-24 overall and 13-13 in the GLVC this spring.  UIndy sports 35-15 overall record and is 17-9 in the conference to date this campaign.     
  
Game 1 | Indianapolis 11, Missouri S&T 1  (Five Innings)
 
S&T was run-ruled in game one as UIndy erupted for three runs apiece in the first two innings and put up five more in the fourth to steal the Lady Miners' fate.
 
The Greyhounds wasted no time getting on the board with three runs in the bottom of the opening frame off S&T sophomore pitcher Avery English (Carterville, Ill./Carterville) as a result of a pair of hits and two S&T errors.
 
UIndy would tack on a three spot the next inning to stretch their lead to 6-0 as the Greyhounds scored on a run-scoring triple, an RBI groundout, and a solo homer from Taylor Podschweit.  
 
A run-scoring single by sophomore shortstop Abby Klein (Kansas City, MO/Staley) in the top of the third gave the Lady Miners their initial and only run of the game.  Junior catcher Lauren King (O'Fallon, Mo./Fort Zumwalt North) started the inning off with a base on balls and junior outfielder Courtney Jackson (Parkville, Mo./Park Hill South) followed with a fielder's choice, which resulted in King being out at second base.  Jackson promptly advanced to second on a stolen base and would score on Klein's RBI single to center field. 
 
The offensive assault for UIndy resumed in the last half of the fourth as the Greyhounds plated five runs on as many hits.  A pair of RBI singles sandwiched between a two-run scoring single by Shannon Schuetz accounted for four of UIndy's run with the final one coming on a foul sacrifice fly.  
 
Avery English (Carterville, Ill./Carterville) took the loss as her season record falls to 16-11. She struck out two and walked one in four innings of work.  UIndy's Lauren Honkomp (15-7) earned the victory by throwing a two-hitter thru five frames and fanned six S&T batters to go with a pair of walks. 
 
Junior first baseman Gretchen Egly (Joliet, Ill./Plainfield Central) was the only other Lady Miner to get a hit off Honkomp as she garnered a leadoff single in the top of the second inning.  For the Greyhounds, leadoff hitter Brooke Montgomery went 3-3 at the plate and was joined in the multi-hits department by Sydnie Foster, who tallied two hits in as many at bats.
                  
          
Game 2 | Missouri S&T 7, Indianapolis 2
 
In the nightcap, S&T responded commendably from its one-sided game-one loss as the Lady Miners lead from start to finish as Kati Viets (Sweet Springs, Mo./Sweet Springs) stepped up by limiting UIndy to six hits.
 
S&T broke a scoreless tie in the top of the second inning with two outs as Olivia Young (Milstadt, Ill./Belleville Township) drove an offering from UIndy starting pitcher Halie Waters to right field for a three-RBI triple.  With one out, Lauren King (O'Fallon, Mo./Fort Zumwalt North) and Courtney Jackson (Parkville, Mo./Park Hill South) both singled and then King moved to third base on a passed ball.  Abby Klein (Kansas City, MO/Staley) walked to load the bases with two outs to set up Young's three-base hit.  The Greyhounds got one back in the bottom of the third on Taylor Podschweit's RBI sacrifice fly and pulled to within a run at 3-2 the next inning when Brooke Montgomery singled with two outs to knock in a run.
 
In the top of the fifth, S&T produced four runs on as many hits as the Lady Miners surged to a 7-2 lead as a two-run scoring double by junior outfielder Carley Hamann (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln Way North) represented a decisive hit.  Singles from Abby Klein (Kansas City, MO/Staley) and Olivia Young (Milstadt, Ill./Belleville Township) to begin the inning proceeded by a walk to Gretchen Egly (Joliet, Ill./Plainfield Central) loaded the bases and signified a change in the pitching circle as starter Halie Waters was pulled in favor of reliever Lauren Honkomp.  Hamann promptly greeted Honkomp with a single to center to score both Klein and Young.  With two outs, the Lady Miners capitalized on a wild pitch as freshman pinch-runner Marcy McCalla (Staunton, Ill./Staunton) scored from third base and Hamann went to third.  Two batters later, Courtney Jackson (Parkville, Mo./Park Hill South) posted an infield single allowing Hamann to cross home plate with S&T's seventh and final run of the contest.
 
Kati Viets (Sweet Springs, Mo./Sweet Springs) (8-11) pitched a solid game for S&T as she turned in a complete-game effort outperforming her UIndy counterpart in Halie Waters, who took the loss after giving up six runs and seven hits in the first four innings.
 
Olivia Young (Milstadt, Ill./Belleville Township)'s three hits led the way offensively for the Lady Miners, who chalked up nine hits in the game as six different S&T batters produced a hit.  Courtney Jackson (Parkville, Mo./Park Hill South) contributed two hits and an RBI as Young's three was tops on the team.  For Young, the three RBIs bumped her season total to a team-high 53 and is now three shy of tying S&T's single-season record of 56 set by Holly Weinberg in the 2006 campaign. 
                   
Up Next
Missouri S&T will wrap up its regular season this Sunday (April 29) as the Lady Miners visit the Wisconsin-Parkside Rangers in a two-game conference series at the Case Softball Complex in Somers, Wis. The doubleheader begins at noon (CT) with game one followed by the second game at 2 p.m.  S&T will seek to be amongst the league's top eight regular-season finishers to secure a berth in the double-elimination 2018 GLVC Softball Championship, which will be held next weekend, May 3-5, at the EastSide Centre in East Peoria, Ill.