ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T's baseball team was unable to generate enough offense early in the game to keep pace with Drury and wound up on the short end of a 10-4 Great Lakes Valley Conference decision Tuesday afternoon at the S&T Ballpark.

The Miners (19-13, 12-9 GLVC), dropped just their second game at home this season but also saw their current skid reach five games, while the Panthers (20-17, 13-8 GLVC) won their fifth straight contest as their built a lead on three multiple-run innings in the first six frames.

After S&T starter Conner Forsythe (Farmington, MO/Farmington) gave the Miners two scoreless innings on the mound, Chasen Anderson (Moscow Mills, MO/Troy Buchanan) took over in the third and the first batter he faced, Ethan Owens, reached on an error.  That was followed by a walk, a sacrifice bunt and a two-run single off the bat of Clayton Engel to give the Panthers the lead.  Later in the inning, Engle scored on an RBI single by Collin Fraley.

S&T gave itself a golden opportunity for a big inning in the fourth as it loaded the bases with nobody out on a double by Matt Gruse (Neenah, WI/Neenah), a single by Tim Lira (Granger, IN/Penn) and a bunt single by Matt Knickerbocker (Bayfield, CO/Bayfield).  Keegan Baxmeyer (Waterloo, IL/Freeburg) flied out to score Gruse, but the Miners lost a runner on the bases on the play and Gruse's run would be all the Miners would get from that threat.

The Panthers tacked on two runs in the fifth and three in the sixth to extend their lead to 8-1.

The Miners knocked three runs off that margin in the seventh, which began with a leadoff triple by Kaleb Reid (Smithville, MO/Smithville).   Doug Wood (Liberty, MO/Liberty North) brought Reid home with a ground ball and reached when the throw was wild and he was able to elude a tag at first.  With one out, Jason Volkmann (Liberty, MO/Liberty) singled to the opposite field and Will Hayes (Terre Haute, IN/South Vigo) was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

Gruse drove in Wood with a sacrifice fly, then when the Panthers tried to appeal that Volkmann left early from second, the throw went into center and Volkmann came across the plate.

However, Drury added two more runs in the eighth to create the final margin.

The Panthers outhit S&T 12-9 in the contest; Volkmann, Gruse and Reid all had two hits apiece.  Anderson, one of seven pitchers used by S&T on Tuesday, took the loss.

The Miners are scheduled to open a three-game weekend series with Missouri-St. Louis on Friday with a noon doubleheader at the S&T Ballpark.