EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Another day, another sweep for Missouri S&T's softball team as the Miners took two more games at the Blue Bridge Battle Saturday with a come-from-behind win over Davis & Elkins and a shutout over host Kentucky Wesleyan, moving back over the .500 mark in the process.
The Miners used a five-run sixth inning to defeat Davis & Elkins 6-5, then blanked Kentucky Wesleyan 7-0 to improve to 6-4 on the year with two more games to play in the event on Sunday.
Game 1 – Missouri S&T 6, Davis & Elkins 5
Each team scored in the opening inning of the contest, with the Miner run coming courtesy of a
Bryn Wooldridge (Salisbury, Mo./Salisbury) single that scored
Elizabeth Viox (Glen Carbon, Ill./Edwardsville). However, the Senators put three runs on the board in the fifth, two scoring on a hit by Kailynn Parks and another in the sixth to take a 5-1 lead into the bottom half of the sixth.
S&T's rally started when Wooldridge drew a walk to start the inning, which was followed by a hit by
Hannah Antzoulatos (Plainfield, Ill./Joliet Catholic Academy) and a run-scoring double off the bat of
Emma Vaughn (Pevely, Mo./Herculaneum). With one out,
Mayce Barber (Excelsior Springs, Mo./Excelsior Springs) reached on a fielder's choice that allowed Antzoulatos to score, then
Peyton Dillon (Yorkville, Ill./Rosary) drove in Vaughn with a hit to cut the Davis & Elkins lead to 5-4. Dillon ended up at second on the play, then Viox singled to bring home Barber with the tying run.
Gretchen Roth (Parkville, Mo./Park Hill South) drew a two-out walk to load the bases and Wooldridge, coming to the plate for the second time in the inning, put S&T into the lead as she drew another walk to force in Dillon with the go-ahead tally.
The Senators got their leadoff hitter on base in the top of the seventh but Barber, who came into the game in the circle in the fifth, got two strikeouts and then retired Linzey Allard on a ground ball to third to end the game.
Barber got the win in relief with 2 1/3 innings of work and three strikeouts along the way. The Miners outhit the Senators 10-7 as Viox, Antzoulatos, Vaughn and Dillon all had two hits apiece.
Game 2 – Missouri S&T 7, Kentucky Wesleyan 0
After two scoreless innings, the Miners broke on top in the third when Vaughn delivered a two-out single to score Wooldridge.
That would turn out to be the only Wooldridge would need, as she recorded a three-hit shutout with five strikeouts along the way. She didn't allow a hit until the fourth and gave up two hits in the sixth before retiring the last four hitters to preserve the shutout.
S&T broke the game open in the middle innings, scoring twice in the fifth and tacking on four more in the sixth. In the fifth, Viox singled to open the inning and
Rachel Smith (Monroe City, Mo./Monroe City R-1) reached on an error, then Antzoulatos singled to the opposite field with one out to drive in both runners.
The Miners' first two runners reached in the sixth as well as
Chloe Saltijeral (North Aurora, Ill./Rosary) singled and
Taylor Caton (Ballwin, Mo./Parkway West) reached on an error, before
Shiane Taylor (St. Jacob, Ill./Triad) tripled into the gap in right center to score both runners. Taylor would score on a ground ball moments later, then the fourth run of the inning scored on an RBI single by Vaughn with two outs.
The Miners had 12 hits in the contest – reaching double figures in that department for the fourth straight game -- three coming from Vaughn and two apiece by Viox, Antzoulatos and Taylor.
Missouri S&T will take on Northwood at 10 a.m. and Trevecca Nazarene at noon to complete its weekend in Evansville.
