ROLLA, Mo. – After enduring the ups and down of the 2018 season, the Missouri S&T baseball team hopes the valuable experience gained during the season will help a veteran squad earn another trip to post-season play in 2019.

The Miners, who finished 26-26 in the 2018 season and reached the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament for the seventh time in the last eight seasons, will open the upcoming season on the road with a four-game series against Spring Hill in Mobile, Ala.  The teams will play a single game to begin the campaign Friday, followed by a doubleheader Saturday and single contest Sunday to close the series.

S&T's rollercoaster campaign last season included wins over Grand Valley State, Hillsdale, Central Missouri and Illinois Springfield in the opening round of 2018 GLVC Tournament, all teams that were either ranked or reached NCAA Division II regional tournaments.  From that season, the Miners return depth at all positions this season, with multiple starters and two of four All-Great Lakes Valley Conference honorees back from a season ago.
 
The pitching staff will be anchored by seniors Luke Marcheschi (Bloomington, IL/Central Catholic) and Dalton Erger (Imperial, MO/Seckman), each of whom won four games last spring which included a win by Erger over UIS in the conference tournament.  Matthew Lamb (Doniphan, NE/Grand Island), a junior who has made starts in each of his first two seasons, will compete for a rotation spot along with Brenden Garza (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt South), who redshirted in his first season with the program.

The Miners also return experience in the bullpen, as Stuart Martin (Ajax, ON/Ajax) and Conner Forsythe (Farmington, MO/Farmington) are expected to be impact arms.  Martin had a breakout 2018 season as he led the staff with a 3.20 ERA in 19 appearances on the season.  Forsythe, meanwhile, handled the closer role for the Miners in first season with the program and is poised to resume that role again this year after notching a pair of wins and four saves in his 11 appearances.

Along with those two, the Miners are expecting contributions in the bullpen from returner Blaine Dunbar (West Plains, MO/West Plains) and newcomers Will Boettcher (Metamora, IL/Metamora), Chase Stebbing (Wahoo, NE/Wahoo), Dylan Dunbar (West Plains, MO/West Plains) and Chasen Anderson (Moscow Mills, MO/Troy Buchanan).

The S&T pitching staff will work with a pair of catchers, Drew Aldana (El Paso, TX/JM Hanks) and Brady Wildschuetz (Foristell, MO/Francis Howell), who figure to split time early in the season.  Drew Aldana (El Paso, TX/JM Hanks), who appeared in 26 games last season and batted .347 with 10 runs batted in.  Wildschuetz, saw limited playing time last year but did launch a two-run home run for the first hit of his collegiate career.
 
In the outfield, the Miners return former All-GLVC selection Kaleb Reid (Smithville, MO/Smithville) and corner outfielder Jason Volkmann (Liberty, MO/Liberty) and are expected to be joined by Matt Knickerbocker (Bayfield, CO/Bayfield), who made the transition from second base to the outfield over the offseason.  Knickerbocker, the GLVC's freshman of the year two seasons ago, appeared in 43 games last season and stole 10 bases.

The Miners have additional depth in the outfield with newcomer Keegan Baxmeyer (Waterloo, IL/Freeburg) expected to compete for a starting role along with returning squadmember AJ Marsh (High Ridge, MO/Seckman).

On the infield, the Miners will be led by second-team All-GLVC third baseman Matt Gruse (Neenah, WI/Neenah), who finished second on the team with a .348 average, led the team in runs scored with 37 and was tied for the team lead in home runs with three.  The man whom he finished second to in the average department, Tim Lira (Granger, IN/Penn), is set to be the starting first baseman for S&T after hitting .362 for the season, with two homeruns and 21 RBI while playing very strong defense, committing just four errors in 289 chances.
 
Up the middle, the Miners will be anchored by Cameron Burk (Nacogdoches, TX/Cushing) at shortstop as he is coming off a 2018 campaign where he batted .342 in 47 contests.  Burk also recorded a .473 on-base percentage mark – in part being hit by pitches 27 times that was the second-most in NCAA Division II – and also led S&T with 21 stolen bases.   

Redshirt freshman Will Hayes (Terre Haute, IN/South Vigo) is projected to get the starting role at second base, with newcomer Doug Wood (Liberty, MO/Liberty North) being in the mix to play at three of the four infield spots.  Meanwhile, Zach Bracken (Berthoud, CO/Berthoud), who had two home runs and 12 RBI in 29 games last season, is expected to compete for time at first base.

Forsythe, who hit .325 and hit walk-off home runs on consecutive days in the final home weekend of the season last year,  is expected to handle the designated hitter duties, with newcomer Mike Ward expected to get at-bats in that role after posting strong offensive numbers at St. Charles Community College.

Following the opening weekend of play, the Miners – picked to finish seventh in the GLVC this season -- will face perennial NCAA Division II power Central Missouri on Feb. 20 before opening their home schedule on Feb. 23 with a series against former GLVC foe Wisconsin-Parkside.  The Miners will open GLVC play at William Jewell on March 9 and begin the home portion of the conference slate a week later against Truman State.