JOPLIN, Mo. – After suffering another tough late inning loss in its first game of the day Sunday, Missouri S&T's softball team bounced back in the nightcap as it shut out Northwest Missouri State 4-0 to gain a split of its games with the Bearcats at the MIAA/GLVC Crossover at Missouri Southern.
The Bearcats scored twice in the top of the seventh to win the opener 6-5, so the Miners' win in game two brought S&T's record back to the .500 mark at 8-8 heading into its final game in the event on Monday when it plays Missouri Southern in a single game at noon.
Game 1 – Northwest Missouri State 6, Miners 5
Northwest grabbed the early lead in the opener when Olivia Daugherty belted a two-run homer in the opening inning – the first home run allowed by Miner pitching this season. However, the Miners scored in each of the first four innings, getting a run back in the first when
Rachel Smith (Monroe City, Mo./Monroe City R-1) scored as
Alyssa Haile (St. Peters, MO/Francis Howell Central) reached on an error.
S&T took the lead in the second when
Hannah Antzoulatos (Plainfield, Ill./Joliet Catholic Academy) led off with a hit and
Shannon Flowers (Katy, Texas/Katy) blasted a two-run homer, then the Miners tacked on single runs in the third when
Bryn Wooldridge (Salisbury, Mo./Salisbury) drove in
Elizabeth Viox (Glen Carbon, Ill./Edwardsville) with a bunt and again in the fourth on an RBI double by
Madi O'Farrell (Olathe, Kan./Olathe Northwest) that scored
Baylee Jobson (Marceline, Mo./Marceline RV). S&T had a second runner thrown out at the plate on the play, but ended the fourth with a 5-2 lead.
The Bearcats (12-5) trimmed the S&T advantage to 5-4 in the fifth on a two-run single by Daugherty before regaining the lead in the seventh after the Miners retired Daugherty on a comebacker to start the inning. Northwest got the tying run across on an error, then took the lead on Omara Love's run-scoring single.
Northwest outhit S&T 9-7 in the game, with the Miner hits coming from seven different players. Wooldridge went the distance in the circle and was tagged with the loss despite striking out five.
Game 2 – Miners 4, Northwest Missouri State 0
After suffering their third straight loss in the late innings, the Miners got a strong pitching effort from
Mayce Barber (Excelsior Springs, Mo./Excelsior Springs) in game two as she blanked the Bearcats on five hits and let her defense do the work behind her. Barber fanned only two hitters in her complete game effort, but did induce 11 ground ball outs and got two key outs in the third after the Bearcats had a runner at third and one out to keep Northwest off the scoreboard.
S&T took the lead in the top half of the third, as Jobson singled with one out and scored on a two-out double by Smith. The Miners added to their advantage in the sixth when Haile doubled with one out and came around to score on a two-out single by
Emma Vaughn (Pevely, Mo./Herculaneum).
The Miners got two insurance runs in the seventh, both of which scored with two outs. Jobson opened the inning with a hit and eventually reached third on a ground ball and a stolen base that preceded an RBI double by Wooldridge.
Peyton Dillon (Yorkville, Ill./Rosary) ran for Wooldridge and would score moments later on a hit by Haile.
Vaughn had three of the Miners' 10 hits as they outhit Northwest 10-5. Haile had two hits in the game as did Jobson, who scored twice during the contest.
