ROLLA, Mo. – A breezy afternoon with the wind blowing in at the S&T Softball Field brought about two low-scoring games Monday afternoon, as Missouri S&T and Drury split their Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader with each team winning by a 1-0 score.
Game 1 – Miners 1, Drury 0
Despite not getting a hit off Drury starter Kristina Bettis, the Miners (15-17, 7-5 GLVC) got the only run of the game in the third inning when
Madison Passolano (Mokena, Ill./Lockport Township) was hit by a pitch to start the inning, then stole second and third and came in to score when first baseman Reagan Hight dropped a throw to first on a ground ball off the bat of
Rachel Smith (Monroe City, Mo./Monroe City R-1) that would have ended the inning.
The Panthers (18-18, 6-4 GLVC) had runners in scoring position in the fifth and sixth innings, but S&T pitcher
Bryn Wooldridge (Salisbury, Mo./Salisbury) pitched out of both innings. She got two ground balls to get out of the fifth, then fanned the final two hitters of the sixth after Sydney Sneed had singled with one out.
Wooldridge recorded her second straight shutout and third straight for the Miner pitching staff, the first time S&T had blanked an opponent in three straight games since the latter stages of the 2009 season.
In her complete game effort, Wooldridge allowed only three hits herself and matched her career high with 12 strikeouts. She had at least one strikeout in every inning.
Game 2 – Drury 1, Miners 0
The nightcap was also a scoreless, low-hit game as S&T's
Charlye Rowland (Pearcy, Ark./Lake Hamilton) and Drury's Karsyn Smith matched zeroes for the first six innings. The Miners had a scoring chance in the second when
Hannah Antzoulatos (Plainfield, Ill./Joliet Catholic Academy) led off with a single and
Shannon Flowers (Katy, Texas/Katy) hit a double to the fence, but Antzoulatos was thrown out at the plate to keep the game scoreless.
S&T got another hit in the inning from
Elizabeth Viox (Glen Carbon, Ill./Edwardsville), but was unable to get a run across in the frame.
The Panthers had a second and third situation with one out in the fifth, but Rowland was able to get a short fly ball and a strikeout to get out of that jam.
Drury broke through in the seventh when Lauren Beier singled with one out, stole second and scored on a two-out single by pinch-hitter Gracie Thomas. Smith then retired the Miners in order in the bottom half of the inning.
The Miners outhit the Panthers 6-5 in game two, with Passolano and Viox getting two hits apiece for S&T.
Missouri S&T will face Illinois Springfield Saturday in a noon doubleheader in Springfield, Ill.
