ROLLA, Mo. – In the midst of a seven-game road trip, the Missouri S&T baseball team will look to get back on track with the first midweek contest of the season against Maryville before a split-site series with Southwest Baptist scheduled for Thursday in Bolivar and Sunday in Rolla.
 
The Miners (3-5) dropped three of four last weekend to Drury, taking the series opener before falling in the next three, including a pair of one-run contests in games three and four.
 
Garrett Weiner (Alton, IL/Marquette) checks in this week with a team-leading .370 batting average and has two home runs to his credit along with a double and a triple. Tommy Ruether (Washington, MO/Washington) is batting .316 and has hit safely in seven of eight games to begin his S&T career and has driven in a run in six of eight games. Aaron Berkhoff (Colorado Springs, CO/Cheyenne Mountain) is hitting .300 and leads the team with four home runs and 10 RBI, while Doug Wood (Liberty, MO/Liberty North) is just under the .300 mark at .296 and is tied for the team lead with five walks. Will Hayes (Terre Haute, IN/South Vigo) returned to the lineup over the weekend and is hitting .714 and is coming off a 4-4 game in which he reached base in all six plate appearances against Drury.
 
On the hill, Dylan Mollett (St. Louis, MO/Oakville) has led the way and is 1-0 in two starts this season with a 3.86 ERA and has struck out 17 against one walk in 11 2/3 innings of work. Elijah Gross (Lee's Summit, MO/Lee's Summit West) (1-1) has made a start and a relief appearance and tallied 9 2/3 innings of work and struck out 11 batters this season. Freshman Kyle Athmer (Breese, IL/Breese Central Community) (1-1) wowed in his first career start over the weekend, striking out four while allowing a run on three hits in five innings in the series opener at Drury. Out of the bullpen, Chasen Anderson (Moscow Mills, MO/Troy Buchanan) has been one of the leaders, sporting a 4.15 ERA and working 4 2/3 innings with a save in relief of Athmer Friday.
 
The Saints (6-4) took three out of four from Truman State over the weekend, falling 15-3 in the opener before winning 6-2, 7-6 and 19-8 in the final three games of the weekend.
 
Joey Polak leads MU in hitting with a .529 average, as well as a team-leading four home runs and 11 RBI. Stephen Elias is hitting .400 with five extra-base hits while three other regulars. Brad Willis, Dominic Connolly and Andy Bunton, the team's leader in stolen bases with four, are all hitting over .300 to start the season.
 
For Wednesday's game, Maryville has several options to use on the mound. Ben Prywitch has worked 3 1/3 scoreless innings to begin the season while Jamie Young sports a 1.69 ERA with seven strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. Nolan Miller (2.08 ERA) has 10 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings while Philip Reinhardt (3.18 ERA) leads the team with five appearances and has five strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings of action.
 
The Bearcats (1-8) picked up their first win of the season last weekend in a four-game series at home against Purdue Northwest. SBU won the opener 7-4 before dropping the next three by scores of 5-0, 7-2 and 6-5 and play Baptist Bible College in a doubleheader Wednesday before hosting S&T Thursday.
 
Colby Sneed leads the team at the plate with a .320 batting average and three doubles, while Brock Wilken is hitting .308 and is tied for the team lead with two home runs and six RBI. Rhys Cratty is the final regular for the Bearcats hitting .300 or better and also has two home runs and six RBI. Brennan Espy (.222) rounds out that team-leading trio, as four of his six hits have gone for extra bases.
 
On the mound, SBU has struggled to find consistency, particularly among their starting rotation. Logan Sorrell has made a team-leading three starts and four appearances overall and has a save to his credit, but has given up 19 runs, 14 earned, in 10 2/3 innings of work. Out of the bullpen, Matt Scott has been the go-to option, making five appearances and recording seven strikeouts in his eight innings of work as he has posted a 4.50 ERA. Brennan Espy has made two appearances and struck out seven in 4 1/3 innings while Chase Wilson and JR Deichler have made five scoreless appearances between them.
 
Last season, S&T split a four-game series against SBU late in the GLVC schedule, dropping the first two games before winning games three and four. All-time, SBU leads the series 46-42. The Miners and Saints have not met since the 2019 season, when the Saints took two of three in the regular season before knocking the Miners out of the GLVC Tournament in May. All-time, S&T leads the series 34-21.