ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T completed a very successful opening homestand to the 2019 season Saturday afternoon – and stayed on the heels of Great Lakes Valley Conference leader Quincy – by sweeping a doubleheader over Lewis with wins of 5-4 in 11 innings and 5-2 at the S&T Ballpark.

The Miners took game one on Matt Gruse's (Neenah, WI/Neenah) RBI single in the 11^th, then got a strong pitching effort from Brenden Garza (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt South) in the nightcap to improve to 16-6 overall and 9-2 in the GLVC as they won eight of their nine games on the homestand. 

S&T took a 4-0 lead in the opener in the second inning, which began with a hit by Matt Knickerbocker (Bayfield, CO/Bayfield) and walks to Conner Forsythe (Farmington, MO/Farmington) and Kaleb Reid (Smithville, MO/Smithville) to load the bases.  With one out, Will Hayes (Terre Haute, IN/South Vigo) doubled into the gap in right center to score the first two runs of the inning, then an errant throw back into the infield allowed Reid to score on the play as well.

Hayes ended up at third, then crossed the plate on a squeeze bunt by Jason Volkmann (Liberty, MO/Liberty) to give starter Dalton Erger (Imperial, MO/Seckman) a four-run lead.

Lewis (8-13, 3-8 GLVC) got two of the runs back in the third on RBI singles by Anthony Cavalieri and Conner Rutherford, but Erger carried the lead into the sixth inning before the bullpen took over matters.  Stuart Martin (Ajax, ON/Ajax) got a pair of strikeouts to get the Miners out of a jam in the sixth, but was touched for a run in the eighth when Rutherford led off with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly.

In the ninth, the Miners committed a throwing error on a potential game-ending double play ball, allowing Troy Hejdukowski to score the tying run.  Forsythe, who came in to pitch in the ninth, got out of the frame and the contest headed to extra innings after S&T went down in order in the ninth.

The Miners had a golden opportunity to win the game in the 10^th when they had the bases loaded with one out, but Lewis reliever Jake Lotz escaped the threat with a  foul out and a fly out to send the contest to the 11^th.

In the bottom of the 11^th, Cameron Burk (Nacogdoches, TX/Cushing) reached on a double after Flyer right fielder Matt McCauley was unable to make a diving catch on the play, then after a sacrifice bunt, Gruse slapped a line drive down the line in left to end the game.

The Miners outhit the Flyers 10-9, with Burk, Gruse and Knickerbocker all getting two hits apiece.  Will Boettcher (Metamora, IL/Metamora), the sixth pitcher used by S&T in game one, picked up the win after throwing a scoreless 11^th inning.

Lewis took the lead in game two by scoring twice in the third, but the Miners answered back with a three-spot in the bottom of the frame.  Burk was hit by a pitch to begin the inning and scored on a one-out double by Gruse.  With two outs in the inning, Knickerbocker reached on a bunt single and stole second, then Forsythe reached on an infield single.

On the play, the Flyers' third baseman and shortstop bumped into one another while fielding the ball and the throw was bounced to first, allowing Gruse and Knickerbocker to both score on the play to give S&T the lead.

The Miners tacked on single runs in the fourth on an RBI double by Volkmann and in the fifth when Reid shot a double past the first base bag to plate Knickerbocker.

Garza pitched into the seventh and after allowing a two-out hit that brought the tying run to the plate, Blaine Dunbar (West Plains, MO/West Plains) entered the contest and struck out Matt Verdun on three pitches to pick up his first save of the year.

Knickerbocker had three hits and Volkmann added two as the Miners outhit the Flyers 10-6 in the nightcap.

With the nine-game homestand now behind them, the Miners – who are currently one-half game in back of Quincy in the GLVC standings -- will next hit the road for nine straight, beginning with Tuesday's single game at Maryville that will begin at noon.