EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Missouri S&T's baseball team picked up a critical series win and moved into sole possession of second place in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Monday afternoon as it rallied for a 5-2 win over Southern Indiana.

The Miners used a four-run fifth inning and solid pitching from its bullpen after taking the lead to capture the rubber game of the three-game series, moving to 18-8 overall and 11-4 in the GLVC as a result.  USI dropped to 17-10 overall and 10-5 in GLVC play.

S&T scored first as it got a run across in the second inning, beginning with a two-out single by Braden Mahuriin.  Will Hayes (Terre Haute, IN/South Vigo) drew a walk and Cameron Burk (Nacogdoches, TX/Cushing) followed with a hit to bring home Mahurin.

Southern Indiana took the lead in the third on a two-run double off the bat at Nathan Kuester, but the Miners answered back against USI starter Chase Partain in the fifth with the decisive four-run outburst.

Matt Gruse (Neenah, WI/Neenah) drew a walk to open the inning and Tim Lira (Granger, IN/Penn) was hit by a pitch, then Kaleb Reid (Smithville, MO/Smithville) was bunting the runners over, but a throwing error on the play allowed Gruse to score the tying run.  Reid moved ahead to second on a wild pitch and scored along with Lira moments later on a hit by Bracken that put the Miners into the lead. 

S&T added to its advantage later in the fifth when Hayes knocked in Mahurin with an RBI single.

Miner starter Brenden Garza (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt South) pitched into the fifth and ran into some trouble after allowing a leadoff double to Bryce Krizan, but Joe Wolf (Freeburg, IL/Freeburg) entered the game and got the Miners out of the inning with the three-run lead still intact.

Wolf – who picked up the win -- Stuart Martin (Ajax, ON/Ajax), Will Boettcher (Metamora, IL/Metamora) and Conner Forsythe (Farmington, MO/Farmington) closed the door on the Screaming Eagles, allowing just two hits and pitching around five walks over the final 4 2/3 innings to close out the contest.  USI had the tying run at the plate in the ninth with one out, but Forsythe got the Eagles' top home run hitter, Lucas McNew, to fly out and then retired Kuester on a foul out to pick up his fourth save of the season.

The Miners outhit the Screaming Eagles 11-5 in the contest, with Burk and Hayes getting two hits apiece.

Missouri S&T returns to action Wednesday with a doubleheader against Drury in Ozark, Mo.; Wednesday's twinbill gets underway at 3 p.m.