ROLLA, Mo. – The sun was shining, and the skies were clear once more at the Ballpark at S&T for the series finale between Missouri S&T and Minnesota Crookston Tuesday afternoon. The Miners (2-2) looked poised to pick up a series win in the early going after a barrage of homeruns, but the Golden Eagles (5-8) managed to string together big innings late before taking the lead for the final time in the eighth inning to win by a final score of 16-15 after the marathon three and a half hour game was called due to darkness.
UMC scored first with two outs in the top of the first on a two-run single to left, but a shutdown second inning from
Estin McBroom (Monett, MO/Monett) allowed for S&T to answer in the bottom half with a two-run homerun from
Braden Mahurin (Dixon, MO/Dixon) followed by a solo shot from
Aaron Berkhoff (Colorado Springs, CO/Cheyenne Mountain) two batters later to make it a 3-2 game.
The Golden Eagles again scored two to go back on top in the third on an RBI triple to left followed by an RBI groundout to second to make it 4-3. Another scoreless inning from McBroom in the fourth set the table for S&T to answer again in the bottom of the inning, when Berkhoff went yard again to center field just left of the batter's eye to drive in Mahurin and
Jaden Courtois (Festus, MO/Jefferson) and make it 6-4.
Garrett Weiner (Alton, IL/Marquette) kept the action coming when he blasted a two-run shot to nearly the same spot as Berkhoff to score
Tommy Ruether (Washington, MO/Washington) after a triple into the right field corner to make it an 8-4 game.
A Minnesota Crookston homerun in the top of the fifth made it a three-run game but in the bottom of the inning, Berkhoff again went deep, this time to left center for a two-run shot to make it 10-5.
The runs kept coming in the sixth, as UMC scored two on a two-out RBI single through the right side of the infield, but again S&T answered in the bottom of the inning, this time without recording a hit as a wild pitch allowed Weiner to score before Courtois and Berkhoff worked back-to-back bases loaded walks to make it a 13-6 game.
The seventh inning proved to be a turning point in the game, as eight runs came across for the visitors. A two-run single followed by an error, a fielder's choice, a two-run triple, wild pitch and homerun swung the score in favor of Crookston 15-13. With the afternoon sun starting to fade, the urgency to answer in the bottom of the inning was paramount, and S&T rose to the challenge, as
Andrew Branson (St. James, MO/St. James) turned around the first pitch he saw for his first homerun of the season to left center before Mahurin drove in
Doug Wood (Liberty, MO/Liberty North) on a sac fly to even the score back at 15.
As the sun continued to shrink behind the western horizon, he eighth inning would end up being the decider as there was too much baseball and not enough day left. UMC was able to push across the go-ahead run in the top of the inning on a single deep in the hole at second to make it 16-15. Looking for one more rally, the Miners were able to get the tying run on base, but no further than first as the sun finally set with a split of the two game series as Crookston took game four.
Berkhoff finished the day 3-4 with a walk and seven RBI while Weiner also went 3-4 with a pair of RBI. Mahurin finished 2-2 with two walks and three runs driven in while Branson posted a 2-6 day with an RBI. Five other Miners collected a hit in the game and lone RBI outside the aforementioned group came from Courtois.
McBroom took the no decision in his first collegiate appearance, working four innings and allowing four runs on three hits while recording four strikeouts while
Chasen Anderson (Moscow Mills, MO/Troy Buchanan) turned in a scoreless appearance to work out of jam in the sixth.
Kyle Athmer (Breese, IL/Breese Central Community) (0-1) took the loss after allowing one run on six hits while striking out two in his inning and two-thirds of work in his S&T debut.
Berkhoff became the first Miner program history to belt three long balls in a single game, surpassing the previous record of two which was most recently accomplished by Wood against SBU last May. As a team, S&T's six homeruns shattered the previous record of five, which had stood since 2001 in a game against Pittsburg State.
The Miners will be back in action again Friday when they hit the road for the first time in 2022, with a trip to Drury for a four-game series starting Friday at 4 P.M. at the U.S. Ballpark in Ozark.
