ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T's softball team was just a couple of innings away from sweeping a doubleheader from a team currently in the NCAA Division II regional rankings, but Missouri Western rallied late in game two and gained a split with the Miners. S&T won the opener 1-0 before the Griffons captured a 5-4 decision in the nightcap of the Miners' final non-conference games of the season.
Game 1 – Miners 1, Missouri Western 0
The Miners (18-26) got the only run of the game in the opening inning, as
Elizabeth Viox (Glen Carbon, Ill./Edwardsville) led off the game with a double down the line in left, then moved on to third on a fly ball by
Hannah Antzoulatos (Plainfield, Ill./Joliet Catholic Academy) and scored when
Bryn Wooldridge (Salisbury, Mo./Salisbury) dropped down a bunt that was mishandled by the first baseman.
After bringing in the run with the bunt, Wooldridge did the rest in the circle as she allowed just five hits and struck out five to pick up her eighth win of the season. She ran into trouble on a couple of occasions, once in the third when the Griffons (31-18) got two runners on base with one out, but Wooldridge retired the next two hitters to escape that jam.
Western loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth, but Wooldridge got pinch-hitter Chloe Armstrong to hit into a fielder's choice to end that threat. She retired the final five hitters to close out the contest.
Each team had five hits in the opener with five different Miners getting hits in that game.
Game 2 – Missouri Western 5, Miners 4
S&T appeared to be on its way to a sweep, leading 2-0 after five innings with the Griffons still looking for their first hit of the contest. But after a leadoff single by Kennedy Preston to break up
Charlye Rowland's (Pearcy, Ark./Lake Hamilton) no-hit bid, Western sent eight additional batters to the plate in the sixth and scored five times to take a lead it would not relinquish.
The Miners scored single runs in the first and third innings to take their 2-0 lead, with the first run coming when Viox and Wooldridge executed a double steal and the other when Wooldridge reached on a check swing single with two outs in the third that allowed Rowland – who led off the inning with a hit – to cross the plate.
Western loaded the bases in the sixth after the Kennedy hit, then Rowland struck out the next two hitters. However, Natalee Weber drew a two-out walk to force in a run and pinch-hitter Kaylea Fessler slashed an 0-2 pitch to the fence in right center to clear the bases and give the Griffons their first lead of the afternoon.
The Griffons added another run before the inning ended on an RBI single by Armstrong, but the Miners drew to within a run in the bottom of the inning.
Rachel Smith (Monroe City, Mo./Monroe City R-1) walked with one out and
Emma Vaughn (Pevely, Mo./Herculaneum) hit a ball to third, but the throw to second went into right field to allow the runners to move to second and third. After Rowland lined out to third, Viox singled into center to score both runners to get the margin back to one.
However, the Griffons got out of the sixth with no additional damage and then pitcher Sam Pederson pitched around a two-out single by Chloe Salitjeral in the seventh to hold off S&T.
Viox, Wooldridge and
Madison Passolano (Mokena, Ill./Lockport Township) all had two hits apiece for S&T, who outhit Western 10-4 in the nightcap.
The Miners will close out their Great Lakes Valley Conference regular season schedule this weekend with doubleheaders Saturday against Lewis and Sunday against sixth-ranked Indianapolis at the S&T Softball Field. Both twinbills will begin at noon, with the Missouri S&T seniors being honored prior to Saturday's games at 11:30 a.m.
