ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T's softball team celebrated its first opportunity to play at home this season by sweeping a doubleheader Friday afternoon from Southwest Baptist, as the Miners took decisions of 7-4 and 6-0 at the S&T Softball Field.
Backed by a six-hit afternoon by
Sydney Anderson (Elkhart, IA/North Polk), the Miners seized control of matters early in both games and got a three-hit shutout in the nightcap from
Charlye Rowland (Pearcy, Ark./Lake Hamilton) as they improved to 12-18 overall and 3-3 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
Missouri S&T will host Drury in a twinbill Sunday at noon at the S&T Softball Field.
Game 1: Miners 7, Southwest Baptist 4
After missing on a good scoring opportunity in the first inning, the Miners got on the board in the second as
Alyssa Haile (St. Peters, MO/Francis Howell Central) and
Mackenzie Shields (Kansas City, MO/Platte County) had hits to lead off the inning before
Julia Kanoy (Hamilton, Mo./Penney) drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly. Shields ended up at third after the sacrifice fly and then scored when
Trista Grobe (DeSoto, MO/DeSoto) reached on an error.
SBU (11-19, 0-6 GLVC) evened the score in the third, but the Miners responded with a three-run bottom half of the inning to take the lead for good.
Bryn Wooldridge (Salisbury, Mo./Salisbury) was hit by a pitch to open the inning, then back-to-back hits by
Ty Neal (Enid, OK/Kremlin-Hilldale) and Anderson loaded the bases. Haile reached on an fielder's choice and Wooldridge scored on the play when the catcher's foot left the plate on the throw for the force out.
Later in the inning, the Miners plated two more runs when
Chloe Saltijeral (North Aurora, Ill./Rosary) singled into right center to give S&T a 5-2 lead. The Miners scored again in the fourth when Anderson doubled off the fence in center to score pinch-runner
Peyton Dillon (Yorkville, Ill./Rosary) before SBU's Chloee Sams belted a two-run homer in the fifth to cut the lead to 6-4.
S&T got an insurance run in the sixth when Anderson doubled with two outs and came home on a hit by Haile.
The Miners outhit SBU 13-7 in the opener, with Anderson getting two double among her three hits and four others adding two hits each. Wooldridge, one of the four with two hits, also got the win in the circle with a complete game effort that included 10 strikeouts.
Game 2: Miners 6, Southwest Baptist 0
The MIners recorded three two-run innings to back the pitching of Rowland, who struck out eight in her three-hitter. The Bearcats never got a runner past second base in the contest.
S&T jumped on top in the opening inning, as walks to Grobe and Wooldridge preceded a hit by Anderson to load the bases. Neal hit a sacrifice fly to score the first run, then Wooldridge scored on a wild pitch for the second run of the inning.
The Miners got two more in the third as Wooldridge walked and Anderson doubled in front of another sacrifice fly by Neal, then Haile followed with a double into the left center gap that allowed Anderson to cross the plate. Anderson would drive in the other two S&T runs on her sixth hit of the day, a single in the fourth that scored Grobe and Kanoy.
Missouri S&T had seven hits in the victory.
