ROLLA, Mo. – The Miners defeated the Rockhurst Hawks 11-8 in today's extra inning thriller, getting the win with a walkoff 3-run homerun by
Kenneth Sugi (North Vancouver, BC/Carson Graham Secondary) in the 10th inning.
The Miners claimed an early lead, going up 3-0 in the first. A single by
Jack Bell (Andover, KS/Andover Central) and walk set S&T up to score two runs off
Tyler Prince's (Mexico, MO/Mexico) double in the inning, adding the third run off a sacrifice bunt by
Logan Alexander (Olathe, KS/Olathe Northwest). Starting pitcher
Elijah Gross (Lee's Summit, MO/Lee's Summit West) played the first three innings, giving up only two hits and recording three strikeouts. The second, third, and fourth innings were heavily defensive, with each team recording just one hit each in that time.
David Kephart (Overland Park, KS/Blue Valley Northwest) came in to pitch in the bottom of the fourth would go on to strikeout three of the next seven batters that he faced. Still up 3-0 in the bottom of the fifth, the Miners added another run off an RBI single by
Nick Krodinger (DeSoto, MO/DeSoto) that brought Sugi home from third. The Hawks threatened to score in the top of the sixth, getting a runner on third base with just one out. A strikeout by Kephart and a line out to
Carter Bither (Springfield, MO/Springfield Catholic) ended the inning with the Hawks still down 4-0 though.
Later, in the bottom of the seventh, the Miners started the inning off with back-to-back singles to put two runners on. A sacrifice bunt by
Garrett Weiner (Alton, IL/Marquette) advanced the runners to second and third with just one out on the board. A strikeout and a groundout would prevent the Miners from scoring either runner though.
In the top of the eighth, the Hawks found some rhythm at the plate, getting two singles early in the inning, with the second one scoring their first run of the day. Later in the inning, after a hit by pitch by Kephart,
Jacob Cook (Shorewood, Ill./Minooka Community) took the mound for S&T, inheriting two outs and runners on first and second. He would give up a single to the first batter he faced, which brought another run home for RU before Cook ended the inning with a strikeout. The Hawks would continue their hot batting streak in the top of the ninth, recording three hits and scoring to runs to tie the game at 4-4.
After the Miners were unable to record a hit in the bottom of the ninth, the game moved into the tenth inning. The top of the tenth would good poorly for the Miners, with three different pitchers taking the mound as the Hawks put up four runs and three hits.
Down 8-4 in the bottom of the eighth, the Miners started off with runners on first and second after an error by Rockhurst's infield and a hit by pitch. After a pitching change by RU, the Miners loaded the bases with a walk. A single by
Logan Alexander (Olathe, KS/Olathe Northwest) down the left field line brought two runs home, cutting S&T's deficit in half. The first out of the inning came on a fielder's choice out at home plate, leaving the Miners with runners on first and second. A single by
Matt Souza (Escondido, CA/Christian) loaded the bases for a 2 RBI single by
Aiden Cizek (Wildwood, MO/Lafayette), to tie the game at 8-all. Two at bats later, a homerun by Sugi brought three Miners home for the walkoff win.
Ben Belgrave (Cary, IL/Cary-Grove) earned the win for his time in the top of the tenth, improving his season record to 3-1. The Miners are now 24-21 with a 14-17 conference record heading into the final week of the regular season. They travel to UMSL next week for their last series.
