ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T's final home baseball game of the 2021 season started and ended in spectacular fashion, as the Miners defeated Southwest Baptist 10-0 Sunday afternoon to gain a split of their Great Lakes Valley Conference weekend series.

The Miners returned to the .500 mark at 18-18 overall and 14-14 in the GLVC with Sunday's win and put themselves in a solid position to make the GLVC Tournament field with only a four-game series next week at Truman State remaining on the schedule.  S&T will face the Bulldogs starting on Friday in Kirksville, Mo.

After S&T starter Dylan Mollett (St. Louis, MO/Oakville) set down the Bearcats (16-20, 12-19 GLVC) in the top of the first, Will Hayes (Terre Haute, IN/South Vigo) led off the bottom half with a single to center and that was followed by a home run off the bat of Doug Wood (Liberty, MO/Liberty North) that gave the Miners a quick 2-0 lead.  The Miners added to that lead in the second with two more tallies, stringing together three straight one-out hits along the way.

Brady Voss (Lake St. Louis, MO/Liberty) reached on an infield hit and came all the way around to score on a hit by Brady Wildschuetz (Foristell, MO/Francis Howell) that SBU centerfielder Zack Ehlin dove for and was unable to make the catch.  Later in the inning, Dakota Sill (Lansing, KS/Lansing) doubled, then reached third on a wild pitch and scored when the throw went into left field.

Wood was involved in the scoring again in the third as he drew a leadoff walk and ended up at third following a stolen base and a subsequent throwing error.  Keegan Baxmeyer (Waterloo, IL/Freeburg) singled through a drawn-in infield to score Wood, then the Miners tacked on two more in the fourth on consecutive hits to start the inning by Wildschuetz, Sill and Hayes to score the first run.  Sill scored a short time later when Wood hit a ball that ricocheted off the pitcher.

In the sixth, the Miners got another two-run homer from Wood and got their 10^th run of the afternoon when Michael Ward (Hazelwood, MO/Hazelwood West) singled and later scored on a double play ball.

Mollett held the Bearcats to two hits in his four innings of work, while David Kephart (Overland Park, KS/Blue Valley Northwest) worked the final three innings to preserve the shutout. 

The Miners finished the game by turning a triple play, as Wood was unable to make the initial catch on a line drive, but was able to tag out the runner at second who had left the bag, stepped on second and threw to Ward at first to end the game.  S&T also turned two double plays in Sunday's game.

Missouri S&T outhit Southwest Baptist 16-6 in the contest with Hayes and Wildschuetz getting three hits apiece and Wood finishing with five runs batted in.