ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T's softball team completed a sweep of its Great Lakes Valley Conference weekend at home and extended its winning streak to seven games in the process by taking both ends of a doubleheader Sunday from Rockhurst at the S&T Softball Field. The Miners plated the only run of game one in the sixth inning to take the 1-0 decision, then held off a late rally by the Hawks in the second game to capture a 5-4 decision.
Game 1: Miners 1, Rockhurst 0
The opening game turned into a pitcher's duel between S&T's
Bryn Wooldridge (Salisbury, Mo./Salisbury) and Rockhurst's Anna Newcomer as the two hurlers put zeroes on the scoreboard over the first five and one-half innings. The Hawks (8-14, 3-5 GLVC) had good scoring opportunities in the third when they got two runners in scoring position and again in the fourth with a runner on second with nobody out, but Wooldridge pitched her way out of those situations.
Rockhurst had another good chance in the top of the sixth when it had two runners on two outs, but S&T third baseman
Emma Vaughn (Pevely, Mo./Herculaneum) made a diving stop on a ball off the bat of Gwen Bostick and got to the third base bag for an inning-ending force out.
The Miners were held without a hit by Newcomer until
Ashley Davis (Erie, Ill./Erie) doubled with two outs in the fourth, then they had two runners on two out in the fifth but couldn't score.
S&T broke the ice in the sixth when Newcomer walked
Elizabeth Viox (Glen Carbon, Ill./Edwardsville) and
Hannah Antzoulatos (Plainfield, Ill./Joliet Catholic Academy) to start the inning. Davis greeted reliever Bre Barchak with a deep fly ball to right to send Viox to third; Antzoulatos would steal second moments later to take the force out at second away. Viox broke for home on
Shannon Flowers' (Katy, Texas/Katy) ground ball to second and the play went to first as Viox crossed the plate.
Rockhurst threatened in the seventh with two outs after Allison Shakita doubled and Shelby Winkelman drew a walk, but Wooldridge got Maya Gallagher on a fly ball to right that
Christina Eliopulos (Tinley Park, Ill./Victor J. Andrew) ran down near the warning track to end the game.
Wooldridge allowed five hits and struck out two in picking up the win that improved her record to 9-3 on the year. Rockhurst outhit S&T 5-2 in the opener; the Miners' other hit came off the bat of
Chloe Saltijeral (North Aurora, Ill./Rosary).
Game 2: Miners 5, Rockhurst 4
After coming away victorious despite being shut down offensively in game one, the Miners wasted little time getting on the board in the nightcap as they scored four times in the opening inning. With one out, Antzolatos singled and stole second before scoring on a hit by Davis to put S&T in front. Flowers followed with a double into left center, then Wooldridge drew a walk to load the bases.
Saltijeral drew a walk with two outs to force home a run, then
Baylee Jobson (Marceline, Mo./Marceline RV) lined a ball into right that Kennedy Rucker dove for but couldn't hang on to, allowing two more runs to score to give the Miners a 4-0 lead.
The Hawks got a run back in the second when Shakiba singled in Bostick, but S&T answered back in the bottom of the inning when Antzoulatos doubled with one out and scored on Davis' opposite field single.
S&T starter
Charlye Rowland (Pearcy, Ark./Lake Hamilton), who finished with a career-high nine strikeouts in earning her sixth win of the season, got strikeouts to get out of trouble in four straight innings before the Hawks tagged her for three runs in the sixth. Rockhurst loaded the bases with nobody out and got its first run on a sacrifice fly by Gallagher and the other two on Calli Wibbenmeyer's double.
However, Rowland got Josie Lindenmann on a fly ball to end the sixth and set the Hawks down in order in the seventh to complete the sweep.
The Miners (16-10, 6-2 GLVC) outhit the Hawks 13-6 in the second game, with Davis getting hits in all four of her at-bats and Antzoulatos adding three.
S&T's current seven-game winning streak is its longest since the Miners won eight in a row during the 2007 season. In addition, the four wins in conference play this weekend marks the first time in a decade that the Miners have won all four games of a conference weekend. The last time it happened was when S&T took two games from Lewis and two from Wisconsin-Parkside early in the 2012 conference season.
Missouri S&T will step outside of GLVC play Friday when it hosts Cottey College in a 2 p.m. doubleheader at the S&T Softball Field to wrap up its eight-game homestand. The Miners return to conference play next Sunday when they face Drury in Springfield.
