BOLIVAR, Mo. – After landing in the first NCAA Division II regional rankings for the 2019 season on Wednesday afternoon, Missouri S&T's baseball team extended its winning streak to a season-high seven games as it downed Southwest Baptist 9-4.

After going down in order in the first, the Miners (26-13) drew first blood in the second when Tim Lira (Granger, IN/Penn) hit a leadoff homer.  The scoring didn't stop there, as Zach Bracken (Berthoud, CO/Berthoud) singled with one out and scored on a two-out single off the bat of Braden Mahurin (Dixon, MO/Dixon).  Following a walk to Doug Wood (Liberty, MO/Liberty North), Will Hayes (Terre Haute, IN/South Vigo) singled to score Mahurin with the third run of the inning.

SBU (16-26) scored twice off S&T starter Chasen Anderson (Moscow Mills, MO/Troy Buchanan) in the fourth, but Dylan Dunbar (West Plains, MO/West Plains) entered the contest in a two-on, one-out situation and got the Miners out of the inning with the lead still intact.  Missouri S&T then proceeded to add to its lead in each of the next five innings.

In the fifth, the Miners had a runner thrown out at the plate early in the inning, but still got a run across on a two-out single by AJ Marsh (High Ridge, MO/Seckman).  An inning later, Matt Gruse (Neenah, WI/Neenah) drove in Wood with a two-out hit, then Wood drove in a run himself in the seventh to give S&T a 7-2 advantage.

After the Bearcats scored in the bottom of the seventh, the Miners scored an unearned run in the eighth and tacked on another tally in the ninth on a Kaleb Reid (Smithville, MO/Smithville) RBI single that scored Wood.

Missouri S&T outhit the Bearcats 17-8 as Lira recorded four hits for S&T and Gruse added three; five Miner starters finished the game with at least two hits.  Dunbar, one of five pitchers used by S&T in the contest, was credited with the win.

In the regional rankings released Thursday, the Miners are one of six Great Lakes Valley Conference teams among the top 10 in the Midwest Region and the third-highest ranked team among them.   GLVC leader Quincy is third and Illinois Springfield is fourth in this week's regional listing, while the Miners are trailed by a trio of conference foes in Indianapolis, Drury and Southern Indiana.

Wayne State (Mich.) and Ashland from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference head the first of the three regional rankings that will be released prior to the selections of the tournament fields.

The Miners open a three-game series against Bellarmine on Saturday at the S&T Ballpark; Saturday's doubleheader will get underway at noon.

NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Rankings (April 24, 2019)
1. Wayne State, Mich. (27-9)
2. Ashland, Ohio (30-7)
3. Quincy, Ill. (29-9)
4. Illinois Springfield (28-11-1)
5. Northwood, Mich. (26-13)
6. Malone, Ohio (30-12)
7. Missouri S&T (25-13)
8. Indianapolis, Ind. (26-16)
9. Drury, Mo. (23-20)
10. Southern Indiana (22-18)
Records are through games of April 21.