SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – In the first game of their series against Drury, the Miners fell 7-0 after only recording three hits on the day. The Miners record on the season is now 9-9 and 0-5 in the GLVC.
The Miners got two on base in the top of the first, with runners on first and second, before a pick off and a strike out prevented S&T from bringing anyone home.
Dylan Mollett (St. Louis, MO/Oakville) then took the mound for his fifth start of the season. He started the game off with a looking strikeout but then allowed three singles in the next four at bats, resulting in the Panthers to take a 1-0 lead. A triple and a passed ball brought three more home before the Miners caught a runner stealing to end the inning down 4-0. Back up to bat in the second,
Logan Alexander (Olathe, KS/Olathe Northwest) recorded S&T's first hit of the game with a double to left field.
Andrew Hedgecorth (Smithville, MO/Smithville) came up to bat and singled to center field, prompting Alexander to come home on the hit but getting tagged out on the slide at home. Mollett had a much more successful second inning, getting three outs in three at bats and not giving up any hits.
Neither team scored in the next two innings, with S&T struggling at the plate as they went through just nine batters in the next three innings. Mollett had a poor fifth inning, loading the bases off two hits and a walk with no outs. After striking the next batter out looking, he was replaced by
Matthew Kaiser (St. Louis, MO/Vianney). Kaiser's first batter hit a groundball to Hedgecort at second, setting the Miners up with the perfect opportunity for a double play that would have ended the inning. But a throwing error from second to first by
Nick Krodinger (DeSoto, MO/DeSoto) prevented the second out and allowed the Panthers to bring home a second run on the play to go up 6-0 before a strikeout ended the inning.
The Miners' batting woes continued into the top of the sixth, getting through just three batters with two groundouts and a strikeout. In the bottom of the seventh, Drury started the inning off with a double to right field. A sacrifice bunt and a groundout first base led to the Miners trailing 7-0 heading into the seventh. After a scoreless top of the seventh,
Matt Ellingson (Lenexa, KS/Olathe Northwest) came in to pitch for the bottom of the inning, getting through it in three batters. The eighth inning saw the Miners get their first hit since the second inning off a single through the left side by Hedgecorth. He would advance to scoring position thanks to a sacrifice bunt by
Carter Bither (Springfield, MO/Springfield Catholic) but a groundout would end the inning without any runs scored. Ellingson started the bottom of the eighth off with two straight outs before hitting the next batter. He would end the inning with the next at bat though, after a fielders choice hit to Krodinger resulted in a forceout at second base.
The Miners had a lot of work to do in the ninth, entering the final inning down by nine.
Denton Damgaard (Colorado Springs, CO/Cheyenne Mountain HS) started the inning off with a walk, but a double play next at bat put the Panthers an out away from shutting out the Miners. A fly out two batters later would end the game as a 7-0 loss for S&T.
Hedgecorth's two hits led the team offensively. Mollett recorded three strikeouts on the day with another by Kaiser.
S&T's series against Drury continues with a doubleheader tomorrow, starting at 1 p.m.
