ROLLA, Mo.  –  Miner baseball is back, and their first game is this Saturday at the Ballpark at S&T; the first of four in their series against Winona State this weekend. The Miners had some success last spring, making the GLVC regionals and nearly knocking off top-seeded Quincy in the first round.

The team will be without some key starters from last season. Some notable names who will not be back are Doug Wood (Liberty, MO/Liberty North) (starting shortstop and one-time GLVC player of the week), Dakota Sill (Lansing, KS/Lansing) (starting outfielder), and Cole Hampton (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) (2023 HR and Batting Average leader for the Miners). Despite the losses, there is still plenty of reason to be excited for this season, as the team has over 20 new players, some of whom look to play a big role for Miners Baseball this season. Among the new players are three junior transfers who could see the field a lot in the coming months:

- Kenneth Sugi (North Vancouver, BC/Carson Graham Secondary), Outfielder – After playing two seasons and 82 games for Kaskasia College, Sugi transferred to Missouri S&T where he will play baseball for the Miners this season. Sugi did not see too much action in the games he played, only getting 22 chances but without error. He found more success at bat, recording 36 RBIs in 137 at bats last season.

- Jack Bell (Andover, KS/Andover Central), Outfielder – Bell transferred from Coffeyville Community College, where he played 95 games. He had the third best hitting percentage of all starters last season with a .357 batting average. His fielding was also impressive from his time at Coffeyville, he only committed 1 error on 195 total chances for a .995 fielding percentage.

- Tyler Prince (Mexico, MO/Mexico), Third Baseman – Prince is transferring from the St. Louis Community College Archers baseball team, after playing 97 games in the past two years. Prince had a successful season at the plate in 2023, hitting 16 home runs in fifty-three games, recording a .678 slugging percentage, and a .429 on base percentage.

About the Series and Opponent:

The Miners will play their first game of the season on Saturday at 1 p.m., the next two games of the series will be a doubleheader on Sunday beginning at 11 a.m., and the final game of the series will be on Monday at 1 p.m.

The Miners opponent is the Winona State University Warriors. Just like the Miners, these will be Winona State's first games of the season too. The Warriors are an NCAA Division II program that competes in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. This will be the first meeting in program history between the two teams as they both look to start their 2024 campaign off well.