ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T's softball team squared off Tuesday afternoon with the defending NCAA Division II national champions and was blanked in both games of the doubleheader at the S&T Softball Field, as Rogers State took down the Miners by scores of 9-0 and 6-0.
S&T (16-22) was held in check by the eighth-ranked Hillcats (35-8) as they managed a total of only five hits in the two games.
Game 1 – Rogers State 9, Miners 0
Rogers State jumped on top in the opening inning, as Nicole Price singled with one out and came all the away around to score on a double to the fence off the bat of Bridgett Morales. Morales would score moments later on a dropped fly ball to give the HIllcats a 2-0 lead.
The Miners had a good scoring chance in the third, as
Taylor Caton (Ballwin, Mo./Parkway West) reached on a fielder's choice and then got to third when the second baseman dropped the throw on
Madison Passolano's (Mokena, Ill./Lockport Township) grounder. However, a strikeout and fly out ended that threat.
The Hillcats added to their lead in the fifth when Morales belted a two-run opposite field homer, then Marissa Smith homered with one out in the sixth to spark a five-run inning for Rogers State.
S&T was outhit 12-2 in the opener, with the Miner hits coming from
Shannon Flowers (Katy, Texas/Katy) and
Chloe Saltijeral (North Aurora, Ill./Rosary).
Bryn Wooldridge (Salisbury, Mo./Salisbury) took the loss in the circle for S&T.
Game 2 – Rogers State 6, Miners 0
The Miners and Hillcats swapped zeroes on the scoreboard over the first four innings, with S&T having a scoring chances in each of the first two innings. The Miners had two runners on in the first after being issued a pair of walks in the inning, then got a walk and a hit in the second but couldn't capitalize on either opportunity.
S&T starter
Julia Kanoy (Hamilton, Mo./Penney) pitched out of a two-on, two-out situation in the fourth as she struck out Beth Denney to get out of the inning, but the Hillcats broke the ice in the fifth when Paxton Donaldson drew a one-out walk and reached third with a stolen base and a passed ball. With two outs, Morales singled past a diving
Rachel Smith (Monroe City, Mo./Monroe City R-1) at second to bring in the first run of the contest.
That was followed by back-to-back run scoring doubles by MaKayla Jackson and Callie Yellin, then an error allowed a fourth run to score in the inning.
Rogers State added two more runs in the sixth when Morales drove in her fifth and sixth runs of the afternoon with an RBI single.
The Hillcats outhit S&T 6-3 in game two;
Baylee Jobson (Marceline, Mo./Marceline RV) had two of the Miners' three hits.
Missouri S&T returns to Great Lakes Valley Conference play Saturday when it takes on McKendree in a noon doubleheader in Lebanon, Ill.
