EVANSVILLE, Ind. – After seeing their hopes at a come from behind win dashed in extra innings after a rain delay Saturday, the Missouri S&T baseball team was on a mission Sunday for the final two games of the weekend at the USI Baseball Field against Southern Indiana. In the opener the Miners (19-22, 7-13) scored first and got a stellar performance on the mound before winning a back-and-forth affair in the final, sweeping both ends of the doubleheader from the Screaming Eagles (17-28, 6-14) by scores of 5-1 and 12-9 in the final meeting between the two schools as members of NCAA Division II.
In the opener, the Miners scored first and never looked back, plating the first run of the afternoon on an RBI single by
Garrett Weiner (Alton, IL/Marquette) to score
Tommy Ruether (Washington, MO/Washington) after he reached base via a free pass.
After a scoreless second, S&T cashed in with two outs in the third inning, as
Brady Voss (Lake St. Louis, MO/Liberty) once more delivered an RBI base hit with two outs, this time a two-run triple to left center to being home
Doug Wood (Liberty, MO/Liberty North) and Weiner to make it a 3-0 lead.
Two more runs came for the Miners in the fifth inning, again with two outs as
Braden Mahurin (Dixon, MO/Dixon) doubled to left center to score Weiner and
Tate Morrell (Lloydminster, AB/), but not
Christian Montes de Oca (El Paso, TX/Franklin) as he was cut down at the plate on a good relay but nonetheless, the Green & Gold now led 5-0.
USI managed their only run of the game with two outs in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI triple into the left field corner, but no rally materialized for the Screaming Eagles in the opener, as S&T took the game 5-1.
Freshman starter
Ethan Morrow (Lenexa, KS/Shawnee Mission West) (2-2) allowed just one base runner to reach third base in his first six innings and turned in by far one of his best performances in an S&T uniform. He went the distance for his second win of the season and allowed one run on six hits, while striking out five without issuing a walk.
Wood finished the game 2-4 at the plate with a run scored but it was Voss and Mahurin who had the big hits, each finishing with two RBI and going 1-3 as the plate. Weiner also posted a 1-3 game with an RBI and scored twice as well.
In the series finale, S&T again struck first, taking the lead on an RBI groundout by Wood that scored
Dakota Sill (Lansing, KS/Lansing).
USI then answered right back with four runs in their first at bats of the day, taking advantage of five hits and an error in the inning. The Screaming Eagles added two more in the second inning and led by five at 6-1 heading to the third.
A change on the mound for the home team was fortuitous for S&T, as they plated four in the inning to get back within a run. Wood got things started with and RBI single to left to score Sill before He came around to score on an RBI single by
Tate Morrell (Lloydminster, AB/). Voss kept up his timely hitting, delivering another RBI double that score Weiner and Morrell to cut the deficit to 6-5.
After a scoreless fourth inning, the Miners retook the lead for good, tying the game first on a sac fly by Morrell before Weiner and Voss executed a double steal of second and home to perfection to make it 7-6 S&T. Three more runs came in the sixth inning as S&T continued to pad their lead. Ruether singled back up the middle to score
Aaron Berkhoff (Colorado Springs, CO/Cheyenne Mountain) who led off the inning with a single and advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch. Ruether scored two batters later on another wild pitch before Weiner singled through the left side to score Wood and make it 10-6.
Southern Indiana looked get back into things late, scoring a run in the sixth before adding two more in the seventh to make things interesting at 10-9.
Neither side was able to score a run in the eighth, but in the ninth, the Green & Gold were able to get two runs back, starting when Voss crushed a 2-0 offering to left center for his sixth home run of the season before Sill scored Mahurin on a two-out single to left field and make it 12-9.
Matt Ellingson (Lenexa, KS/Olathe Northwest) closed the afternoon out in the ninth, working around a two-out single to record a strikeout to end the fame and record his first save of the season, working the final 2 1/3 innings and holding USI off the scoreboard while allowing just two baserunners.
Nate Wodka (Allen, TX/Allen) (4-2) earned the win in relief, working a critical 3 1/3 innings of relief to allow S&T to get back into the game, allowing just one run on one hit while striking out three.
Treyton Ruth (Rolla, MO/Rolla) and
Chasen Anderson (Moscow Mills, MO/Troy Buchanan) both turned in scoreless outings on the mound while
Ben Belgrave (Cary, IL/Cary-Grove) was tagged for two unearned runs in his two-thirds of an inning of work.
Estin McBroom (Monett, MO/Monett) got the start and worked into the second, allowing six runs, four earned, on nine hits while striking out a pair.
A trio of Miners turned in three-hit outings, led by Voss who went 3-5 with two extra-base hits and three RBI. Sill finished 3-6 with a double, RBI and two runs scored while Weiner went 3-4 with and RBI and two runs as well. Wood finished 2-4 with a double, three runs scored and two RBI while Morrell went 1-4 with a run and drove in two. Nine different players hit safely in the game while eight different players crossed home in the nightcap.
S&T closes out the regular season next weekend with a four-game Great Lakes Valley Conference series at Quincy, with game one Friday set for 3 P.M.
