ROLLA, Mo. – Back at home to open their final home stand of the season after a weekend off, the Missouri S&T baseball team welcomed former MIAA foe Pittsburg State to the Ballpark at S&T for the first of two meetings over the next two weeks between the teams. The Miners (17-15) used a big second inning and strong pitching over the course of the day to record their first midweek win of the season, beating the Gorillas (23-17) 5-2.
A scoreless first inning saw S&T strike first and take the lead in the second inning.
Will Hayes (Terre Haute, IN/South Vigo) led things off with a flair single to left center before scoring on a double off the wall in left field by
Brady Voss (Lake St. Louis, MO/Liberty) for the opening salvo of the game. After
Braden Mahurin (Dixon, MO/Dixon) reached on a fielder's choice sacrifice bunt to put runners at the corners,
Andrew Branson (St. James, MO/St. James) unloaded on the first pitch he saw in the game and sent one sailing onto Highway 63 for a three-run blast to make it 4-0 S&T.
Nate Wodka (Allen, TX/Allen), who entered in the second after
Cade Meier (Dakota, IL/Dakota) worked a clean first inning, posted a 1-2-3 inning in the third to keep PSU off the scoreboard.
The Gorillas did break through for two runs in the second inning, as
Jacob Cook (Chicago, IL/Minooka Community) was charged with two runs, one earned, as Pitt scored on a fielder's choice and a single to make it 4-2.
The Green & Gold answered back in the bottom of the inning when
Dakota Sill (Lansing, KS/Lansing) recorded an infield single to shortstop that scored Voss for what would end up being the final run of the game to make it 5-2.
From the fifth inning on, Miner pitching allowed just five batters to reach base over the remainder of the game.
Ben Belgrave (Cary, IL/Cary-Grove), who worked out of trouble in the fourth, struck out two over an inning and two third before handing the ball to
Ethan Morrow (Lenexa, KS/Shawnee Mission West), who worked a clean sixth.
David Kephart (Overland Park, KS/Blue Valley Northwest) picked up right where he left off in last week's midweek contest and work two innings with a strikeout before handing things off to
Chasen Anderson (Moscow Mills, MO/Troy Buchanan), who worked a 1-2-3 ninth to finish off the 5-2 win.
Wodka (3-2) earned the win, working two scoreless innings of relief and facing one over the minimum. Anderson, the final of seventh arms used by S&T in the game, recorded his fourth save of the season. Meier, Belgrave, Morrow and Kephart all turned in scoreless outings in their appearances in the game.
At the plate, Voss led the way with a 2-3 day with a double, an RBI and two runs scored while Branson had the big blow with the three-run home run. Sill finished 1-3 with an RBI as six different players accounted for the balance of S&T's hits in the game.
Up next, S&T closes out the home schedule with Great Lakes Valley Conference action against Illinois Springfield beginning Friday at 3 P.M. at the Ballpark at S&T.
