ROLLA, Mo. – Looking to regain their footing after last weekend, the Missouri S&T baseball team hits the road for their final nine games of the regular season, beginning Wednesday evening with a return trip to Pittsburg State before heading east for the final matchup at the Division II level with Southern Indiana beginning Friday.
 
The Miners (17-19, 5-11 GLVC) are still in contention for a postseason berth as they enter the final two weeks of the regular season and with a critical weekend in Evansville on deck.
 
Chase Burgess (Overland Park, KS/Blue Valley West) is the team's leading hitter after the series with UIS, checking in with a .365 average, five extra base hits and 18 runs scored and is just shy of 10 stolen bases this season. Doug Wood (Liberty, MO/Liberty North) is hitting .359 coming into the week with 13 extra base hits, six of which have left the yard this season and has driven in a team-leading 31 runs. Brady Voss (Lake St. Louis, MO/Liberty) enters play this week at .330 with six doubles, five home runs and 29 RBI, while Dakota Sill (Lansing, KS/Lansing) (.324 BA, 11 2B, 2 3B, 16 RBI, 20 SB) and Garrett Weiner (Alton, IL/Marquette) (.320 BA, .568 SLG, 6 2B, 7 HR, 29 RBI) round out the group of regular hitting over .300 for the season.
 
On the mound, S&T has a trio of pitchers with 3-2 records this season in Cade Meier (Dakota, IL/Dakota), Dylan Mollett (St. Louis, MO/Oakville) and Nate Wodka (Allen, TX/Allen). Meier leads the staff with a 4.25 ERA and has struck out 28 in a team-leading 36 innings, while Mollett's 37 strikeouts lead the team in that department as he has worked 34 innings to date. Wodka has struck out 22 in 23 2/3 innings and took a no-decision last time out in a start in Sunday's finale against UIS. Chasen Anderson (Moscow Mills, MO/Troy Buchanan) recorded his fourth save of the season last Tuesday against PSU and leads the team in appearances with 13 for 15 innings, while Elijah Gross (Lee's Summit, MO/Lee's Summit West) is 2-1 with two saves and has made 12 appearances, including a pair of starts, for 27 innings during which he has struck out 23.
 
Pittsburg State (26-17, 20-10 MIAA) made quick work of MIAA opponent Newman last weekend, sweeping the Jets 7-3, 9-0 and 11-3 after falling to the Miners last Tuesday in Rolla.
 
Garrett McGowan is now hitting over .400 this season at .401 and is just two RBI shy of 70 for the season and has 16 doubles and 16 home runs with 52 runs scored, all of which lead the team. Jordan Maxson and Mason Hartman both saw success against Newman over the weekend and are hitting .355 and .373 respectively, with the former up to 14 home runs and 45 RBI this season and the latter now with 20 stolen bases in 27 attempts. Four other regulars are all hitting over .30 for PSU on the season.
 
Five Gorilla pitchers saw the mound last week against the Miners and those five likely factor to see time Wednesday evening once more as well. Clay Wesbrooks (0-1, 8.10 ERA, 18 K, 19 IP) took the loss last week while AJ Calhoon (0-0, 9.95 ERA, 2 K, 6.1 IP), Bennett Scherer (2-0, 6.75 ERA, 15 K, 18.2 IP), Brett Weimers (1-0, 7.66 ERA, 15 K, 22.1 IP) and Jordan Mendenhall (3-1, 4 SV, 28 K, 24.2 IP) all made appearances in relief. Zach Nagel (3-1, SV, 5.40 ERA, 31 K, 31.2 IP) may also factor into the mix as well along with Ben Des Rosiers (5-2, 6.41 ERA, 32 K, 39.1 IP) and Paul Panduro (1-4, SV, 38 K, 32.1 IP).
 
Southern Indiana (15-25, 4-12 GLVC) has dropped five straight and takes on Kentucky Wesleyan Tuesday evening before hosting S&T starting Friday. The Screaming Eagles, who will be moving to Division I and the Ohio Valley Conference next season, were also swept over the weekend by Lewis in a series played in Evansville where the Flyers were the home team due to weather in the Romeoville area.
 
Offensively this season, USI ranks near the bottom of the GLVC with a .265 team average but do have a trio of regulars hitting over .300, led by Ethan Hunter at a .352 clip with six extra base hits and a team-high 18 stolen bases. Lucas McNew has been the main power threat for the Screaming Eagles, belting 13 doubles and seven home runs while driving in 46, all of which lead the team. Evan Kahre checks in at .318 with six doubles, three triples and 16 RBI to round out the group. Ren Tachioka isn't too far off from being the fourth member of that group, hitting .291 with nine extra base hits and 15 RBI while stealing 17 bases in 20 tries this season.
 
On the mound, USI has seen eight different players start a game on the mound and have five players with at least four starts between them. Of the group, two have been used exclusively in a starting role, those being Trent Robinson, who is 2-4 with a 6.80 ERA and is second on the team in both innings pitched (45) and strikeouts (33) and Garrett Welch, who is also 2-4 with a 9.68 ERA and has struck out 30 in 35 1/3 innings of action. Brice Stuteville has made 12 appearances and seven starts and is 4-4 with three saves and a 4.96 ERA and leads the team with 42 strikeouts in 49 innings. Sammy Barnett (2-2, SV, 5.33 ERA, 36 K, 25.1 IP) and Parker Maddox (0-3, 6.00 ERA, 14 K, 18 IP) have made four starts each. Tyler Hutson leads the team with 15 appearances and is 1-1 with a 6.98 ERA and has 21 strikeouts in 19 1/3 innings, while Isaac Housman has made nine appearances this season and struck out 16 in 9 1/3 innings to post a 3.68 ERA.
 
All-time against USI, S&T is 8-25 but has seven wins in Evansville, the last coming in 2019 when the Miners took two out of three in a weekend series. The team last met later that season in an elimination game in the GLVC Tournament, a game in which USI eked out a 5-4 win.