ST.LOUIS, Mo. - The Missouri S&T baseball team wrapped up its series with Drury Sunday by splitting a doubleheader with the Panthers, taking the opening game 6-2 before failing in the finale 7-2 at Maryville University.
Game 1:
Ethan Morrow (Lenexa, KS/Shawnee Mission West) made his sixth start on the mound and he got in a jam right away with runners on the corners with only one away. Morrow worked his way out of the mess by picking off Luke Burk at first and then struck out Kellen Williamson to end the inning.
In the second, S&T got on the scoreboard first on a two-out, RBI double down the right field line off the bat of
Garrett Weiner (Alton, IL/Marquette) that scored
Tommy Ruether (Washington, MO/Washington). S&T added three runs in the third, which came on a two-run homer from
Cole Hampton (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) and a solo blast from Ruether on the very next pitch to go up 4-0.
Drury got its first run in the fourth with a solo homer off the bat of Burk, but S&T regained its four-run lead in the bottom portion of the inning with a sacrifice fly out from
Chase Burgess (Overland Park, KS/Blue Valley West) that scored
Sam Monroe (Moline, Ill./Moline).
In the sixth, S&T called upon reliever
Matthew Kaiser (St. Louis, MO/Vianney) and after he retired the first two hitters he faced, DU's Briar Stinson cleared the wall in center to cut the Miner lead to 5-2. But as was the case in the fourth inning, the Miners got that run back in the bottom of the frame when Weiner belted a long home run to lead to extend the lead back to four.
The Panthers got two runners on base in the seventh before S&T called upon reliever
Elijah Gross (Lee's Summit, MO/Lee's Summit West), who proceeded to get Tyler Bastunas to ground into a double play to end the game and earn the save.
Weiner had two hits for the Miners in game one as they outhit the Panthers 6-4, while Ruether scored twice and Morrow picked up the win on the mound as he struck out six batters in 4 2/3 innings.
Game 2:
Drury opened game two by scoring three times in the first inning off S&T starter
Kyle Athmer (Albers, IL/Breese Central Community), getting on the scoreboard on a two-run single by Will Collins and a sacrifice fly by Connor Bain to take that early lead.
After the first inning, Athmer settled down and pitched two straight scoreless innings, but was unable to complete the fourth after the Panthers got two runners on base.
Ben Belgrave (Cary, IL/Cary-Grove) entered the game and after walking the first man he faced, Bastunas hit a sacrifice fly to increase Drury's lead to 4-0. The Panthers got their fifth run in the seventh on a run-scoring single by Stinson.
S&T broke the shutout in the bottom of the seventh when
Sam Monroe (Moline, Ill./Moline) delivered a two-run single that scored
Aaron Berkhoff (Colorado Springs, CO/Cheyenne Mountain) and Hampton. However, the Panthers added a run in the eighth on a home run by Brooks Sunny and another in the ninth for the final margin.
Drury outhit the Miners 11-3 in the nightcap; Monroe had two of the three S&T hits and
Doug Wood (Liberty, MO/Liberty North) had the other. Athmer took the loss on the hill for the Miners.
The Miners will travel to Pittsburg State Wednesday for a mid-week non-conference contest with the first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. in Pittsburg, Kan.
