OWENSBORO, Ky. – Missouri S&T's softball team continued its early season winning ways by taking its first two contests Saturday at the Blue Bridge Battle, posting wins over Cedarville by a count of 7-5 and blanking Kentucky Wesleyan 8-0 to improve to 6-2 on the young season.
Shannon Flowers (Katy, Texas/Katy) had a huge day at the plate for S&T, going six-of-seven at the plate and driving in seven runs on the afternoon.
Game 1: Miners 7, Cedarville 5
The Miners got off to a fast start in their opening contest of the day, then held on in the seventh inning to post the victory over Cedarville.
S&T scored a single run in the first, then scored three times in the second and twice in the third to take a 6-0 lead through three innings, then held off Cedarville in the seventh as the Yellowjackets scored four times and had the tying run at the plate.
The Miners scored in the first when Flowers singled home
Elizabeth Viox (Glen Carbon, Ill./Edwardsville), then the Miners put three runs on the scoreboard in the second after the first two hitters were retired.
Taylor Caton (Ballwin, Mo./Parkway West) and Viox drew walks, then
Hannah Antzoulatos (Plainfield, Ill./Joliet Catholic Academy) doubled in
Taylor Caton (Ballwin, Mo./Parkway West) and Flowers singled home the other two to give S&T a 4-0 lead.
In the third, the Miners got their first run when
Bryn Wooldridge (Salisbury, Mo./Salisbury) scored on a wild pitch, then
Chloe Saltijeral (North Aurora, Ill./Rosary) delivered another two-out RBI when her opposite field single scored
Baylee Jobson (Marceline, Mo./Marceline RV).
Cedarville got its first run in the fifth, but the Miners scored again in the seventh when they loaded the bases and Flowers came across the plate on a wild pitch.
The Yellowjackets rallied in the seventh with two outs, stringing together a walk and four straight hits to get to within two before
Mayce Barber (Excelsior Springs, Mo./Excelsior Springs) took over in the circle and got the final out by getting Casey Bertke – representing the tying run -- on a ground ball to third.
S&T outhit Cedarville 12-10 as it got three hits from Flowers and a pair of hits apiece from Viox and
Ashley Davis (Erie, Ill./Erie). Flowers drove in three runs in the opener to help back the pitching of Wooldridge, who struck out six over her 6 2/3 innings; Barber picked up the save after getting the final out.
Game 2: Miners 8, Kentucky Wesleyan 0
As was the case in the first game, the Miners broke on top in the opening inning and was able to turn their second contest into a run-rule game as they scored twice in the third and four in the fourth to record their first shutout of the campaign and beat the Panthers for the second time in the span of a week.
Flowers blasted a two-run homer in the first to get S&T the early lead, then Davis delivered a two-run double in the third to score Antzoulatos and Flowers to give the Miners a 4-0 lead. The Miners then doubled their lead an inning later to create the run-rule scenario.
Gretchen Roth (Parkville, Mo./Park Hill South) reached on an error to open the fourth, then with two outs, Antzoulatos reached on an error to keep the inning alive. The second error in the inning allowed
Ciarrah Bell (Marceline, Mo./Marceline) – who got on base on a fielder's choice – to score the first of four unearned runs in the frame. Flowers and Davis followed with back-to-back doubles to drive in runs, then Saltijeral drove in the final run of the inning with a single to left.
Charyle Rowland scattered five hits and struck out six in her five innings of work to pick up the shutout. Flowers and Davis each had three more hits to back her and combined to drive in seven of the eight runs.
Missouri S&T will be back in action on Sunday as it takes on a pair of teams from the Mountain East Conference, facing Wheeling at 10 a.m. and Davis & Elkins at noon.
