HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Missouri S&T's softball team earned a split for the second day in succession at the Hawkins-McGhee Memorial Invitational, bouncing back from a 9-1 loss to Arkansas-Monticello to beat Southwestern Oklahoma State 9-8 in walk-off fashion in the second game.
The Miners, now 2-2 on the season, will return to Arkansas next weekend for four more games at the Alvy Early Memorial Tournament in Bentonville, Ark.
Arkansas-Monticello 9, Miners 1
The Miners fell behind right out of the gate in their first game of the day, as UAM scored a run in the first on an infield out, then tacked on four in the second, two in the third and another in the fourth before the Miners got on the scoreboard in the top half of the fifth.
The Miners got their run when Chloe Salijeral singled to open the inning and moved to second after a walk to
Ty Neal (Enid, OK/Kremlin-Hilldale). With one out,
Mackenzie Shields (Kansas City, MO/Platte County) drove in Saltijeral with a single to right. However, the Cotton Blossoms (1-2) ended the game on the run rule by scoring in the bottom of the fifth.
S&T had three hits in the opener, with Neal getting the other hit along with the fifth inning singles off the bats of Saltijeral and Shields.
Julia Kanoy (Hamilton, Mo./Penney) started the game for S&T in the circle and was tagged with the loss.
Miners 9, Southwestern Oklahoma State 8
S&T went into the seventh inning with a four-run lead, but the Bulldogs (2-2) came from behind and scored the tying run on a wild pitch before the Miners won the game on a bases loaded walk to
Keira Jones (Richmond Hill, GA/Richmond Hill) in the bottom half of the inning.
After SWOSU got on the scoreboard in the second, the Miners scored twice in the bottom of the inning to take the lead. The first run came home on a hit by Neal, then
Trista Grobe (DeSoto, MO/DeSoto) drew a walk with the bases loaded to plate Neal with the go-ahead run. S&T got another run in the third when
Sydney Anderson (Elkhart, IA/North Polk) ripped a double into the left field corner to bring home
Allie Kelly (Park Hills, MO/Central).
The Bulldogs cut the lead to 3-2 in the fourth, but the Miners responded with four in the bottom half of the frame. The inning started when Jones reached on an infield single and went to second on a wild pitch before a walk to
Alyssa Haile (St. Peters, MO/Francis Howell Central). Another wild pitch moved both runners up, then Grobe reached base on a squeeze bunt to score Jones.
Saltijeral followed with a ground ball that allowed Haile to score, then
Bryn Wooldridge (Salisbury, Mo./Salisbury) – S&T's starting pitcher – reached on an error later in the inning that brought in Grobe. S&T's fourth run in the inning scored on a two-out hit by Neal.
The Bulldogs plated two runs in the fifth before the Miners extended the lead to 8-4 in the sixth when Neal singled in pinch-runner
Peyton Dillon (Yorkville, Ill./Rosary). S&T had a two-run lead with two outs in the seventh, but an infield hit, a hit off Wooldridge in the circle and a wild pitch allowed the Bulldogs to tie the contest.
Kelly led off the S&T seventh with an infield single and Wooldridge beat out a bunt in front of the plate. After Anderson hit into a fielder's choice that left Kelly at third, the Miners tried the squeeze in the winning run but Kelly was cut down at the plate. The Miners then caught a break when SWOSU pitcher Blaire Gentry mishandled a comebacker off the bat of Neal to load the bases that would have ended the inning, then Jones drew the walk that allowed Anderson to cross the plate with the winning run.
The Miners outhit the Bulldogs 11-9 in the contest, with Kelly and Neal getting three hits apiece; Neal also drove in three runs. Wooldridge went the distance to pick up her second win of the year, recording nine strikeouts along the way.
