BOLIVAR, Mo. – Back on the road for their final two games of a seven-game road trip, the Missouri S&T baseball team was back at Dodson Field to take on Southwest Baptist in the first two games of a split-site four-game series. As the temperatures dropped, the bats heated up for the Miners (5-6), who rode a strong pitching performance to a 6-1 win in game one before cranking out 12 hits in the nightcap to pick up a win in game two over the Bearcats (3-10) by a score of 12-8.
In the opener, S&T struck first when
Garrett Weiner (Alton, IL/Marquette) singled up the middle with two outs to plate
Dakota Sill (Lansing, KS/Lansing) after he opened the game with a walk. A
Tommy Ruether (Washington, MO/Washington) sacrifice fly in the fourth made it a 2-0 game as
Christian Montes de Oca (El Paso, TX/Franklin) scored after he reached on an error.
SBU scored their lone run of the game in the bottom of the inning, as
Cade Meier's (Dakota, IL/Dakota) streak of nine-straight retired to begin the game ended with a leadoff hit by pitch that eventually came around to score.
The Miners scored a lone run again in the fifth when
Brady Voss (Lake St. Louis, MO/Liberty) came home on a double steal attempt with
Michael Hughes (St. Clair, MO/St. Clair) at first to make it 3-1.
Three more runs scored in the top of the seventh inning to create some breathing room late. A
Chase Burgess (Overland Park, KS/Blue Valley West) double scored Hughes before Sill singled to score Montes de Oca. Sill scored later in the inning on a passed ball to make it 6-1.
Meier (1-0) retired 10 of the final 11 Bearcats he faced in the game and worked around a two out walk in the seventh to close things out with the complete game effort. Meier allowed just two hits in his seven innings with six strikeouts against two walks in his first start of the season.
Weiner led the way at the plate with a 2-4 outing and an RBI while Sill and Montes de Oca each recorded a hit and scored twice. As a team, the Miners drew eight free passes in the game, with Sill,
Andrew Branson (St. James, MO/St. James) and Burgess each working two.
In the nightcap, SBU took an early 4-0 lead after three innings, as they scored a pair of two out runs in both the second and third innings.
Things changed in a big way for S&T in their half of the fourth, as they scored seven times, including six two-out runs to take the lead. After a groundout started the inning, Ruether was hit by a pitch and was joined on base in short order by
Doug Wood (Liberty, MO/Liberty North) before Weiner singled home Ruether to get S&T on the board. A
Cole Hampton (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) single reloaded the bases and after a strikeout put two outs on the board, Voss put together perhaps the at bat of the season, fighting off several tough pitches after quickly going down 0-2 before working the count back full and delivering a two-run double to left field to make it a 4-3 and chase the Bearcat starter.
Evan Crawford (Bettendorf, IA/Pleasant Valley) was first to face the new arm and kept the train rolling, as he reached on an error by the shortstop that saw two more runs score to give S&T a 5-4 lead. Hughes singled to left to score Crawford after he stole second and advanced to third on an errant throw to make it 6-4. Hughes then scored the final run of the frame on a single from Sill to cap the seven-run outburst.
Nate Wodka (Allen, TX/Allen) entered the game to pitch the bottom of the fourth and worked a 1-2-3 frame before the Miners scored three more runs in the fifth. Weiner doubled to left center with one out and scored on a throwing error on the catcher on a strikeout by Hampton to make it 8-4. After Hampton stole second, he scored on a double from Branson to make it 9-4. Another SBU pitching change was followed by another run-scoring hit from Voss, this time a single to right that saw Branson cross to make it 10-4.
SBU got a run back the next half inning when a one-out double came around to score following a walk and a single, but Wodka was able to limit the damage and leave three on base to keep it a five-run game.
The Miner sixth saw a two-out RBI knock from Weiner score Wood to push the lead back to six at 11-5. SBU looked to close the gap in the late going, as the first three batters of the inning reached before they all came across to score on a two-run triple and sacrifice fly to close to within three at 11-8.
S&T got a run back in the top of the seventh to make it 12-8 when Voss drove in his fourth run of the game to score Branson after he reached on an error to lead the inning off.
Elijah Gross (Lee's Summit, MO/Lee's Summit West) was able to come back out in the final half inning of the night and work a 1-2-3 frame, closing out the night with a strikeout.
Voss finished the game 3-4 with a double, four runs batted in and a run and was one of three Miners with a multi-hit game, as he was joined by Weiner, who went 3-4 with a double, two RBI and two runs, and Wood, who posted a 2-4 game with two runs scored. Seven different players recorded a hit and six drove in a run during the contest.
Wodka (1-0) picked up the win in relief, working two innings behind starter
Kyle Athmer (Breese, IL/Breese Central Community) and allowing a run on three hits while striking out a pair.
The Miners and Bearcats are scheduled to wrap up the series this Sunday in Rolla, with a start time scheduled for 12 P.M.
