ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Missouri S&T overcame a three-run deficit to draw even with Maryville in the first game of a nine-game stretch away from home, but the Saints regained the lead in the bottom of the seventh and held on for a 4-3 Great Lakes Valley Conference win at Weber Field.
Maryville (11-13, 8-4 GLVC) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the fourth against
Chasen Anderson (Moscow Mills, MO/Troy Buchanan) on Wyatt Elbe's sacrifice fly, then got a two-run homer from Louis Niemerg in the fifth to extend its advantage.
The Miners (16-7, 9-3 GLVC) were held without a hit until
Tim Lira's (Granger, IN/Penn) single in the sixth drove in
Jason Volkmann (Liberty, MO/Liberty), who had walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch. S&T loaded the bases before the inning ended, but Ryan Louck took over on the mound for the Saints and got a fielder's choice to get out of the inning.
S&T then tied up the score in the seventh as its first four hitters reached base.
Will Hayes (Terre Haute, IN/South Vigo) began matters with an infield single, followed by a bunt single by
Cameron Burk (Nacogdoches, TX/Cushing) and another bunt single by
Jason Volkmann (Liberty, MO/Liberty) to load the bases.
Matt Gruse (Neenah, WI/Neenah) followed with an RBI single, then Lira followed that with a fly ball that scored Burk with the tying run.
However, the Saints regained the lead in the bottom of the seventh on Daniel Covert's two-out RBI single. S&T had an opportunity in the ninth when its first two hitters reached base, but Cody Klotz got the final two outs to secure the win.
The Miners outhit the Saints 9-6 in the game, but left 11 runners on base. Burk and Volkmann had two hits apiece for S&T, while
Will Boettcher (Metamora, IL/Metamora) took the loss on the mound.
Missouri S&T returns to action Saturday when it faces Southern Indiana in the start of a three-game series in Evansville, Ind. The teams are currently scheduled to play a doubleheader Saturday and a single game to close the series on Sunday.