ROLLA, MO -- The Miners grabbed a win today in their first Great Lakes Valley Conference game of the season, defeating University of Missouri-St. Louis 10-9 in a walk-off.
After a pair of scoreless innings to start the action, Missouri S&T recorded two runs in the bottom of the third on a loaded bases single by
Nick Krodinger (DeSoto, MO/DeSoto). The Miners would add to that lead in the bottom of the 5th, adding two more runs off solo homeruns by
Denton Damgaard (Colorado Springs, CO/Cheyenne Mountain HS) and
Garrett Meyer (Jacksonville, IL/Jacksonville).
The Tritons would respond with a double and a homer of their own to start the 6th inning, cutting S&T's lead in half at 4-2. Two at bats later, UMSL would hit another two-run homer, tying the game at 4-all. A short bottom of the 6th and top of the 7th would take the game into the bottom of the 7th with the score still tied.
The Miners took a couple of errant pitches early in the inning, putting two on base off hit by pitches. A single by Meyer through the right side would bring one of the runners home and set the Miners up with runners on first and third with one out. An RBI single from
Nick Hooper (Grain Valley, MO/Grain Valley) and an UMSL passed ball would result in two more S&T runs scoring in the bottom of the 7th, putting the Miners up 8-4 through seven innings.
S&T would get into trouble early in the top of the eighth inning, loading the bases off a single and two walks before
Jacob Cook (Shorewood, Ill./Minooka Community) stepped in to close the inning with only one run allowed. Later, still up 8-5, the Miners looked to close the game out in the top of the 9th. The Tritons would have their best inning of the game when they needed it most though, recording 4 runs on 4 hits to take a 9-8 lead heading into the bottom of the 9th.
The Miners looked in trouble early in the bottom of the 9th, with the first two batters taking strikeouts. Hooper would get the Miners' first baserunner of the inning though, singling up the middle off a 2-2 pitch.
Andrew Hedgecorth (Smithville, MO/Smithville) doubled to right center on the first pitch of the following at bat, bringing Hooper home to tie the game at 9-9.
Jack Bell (Andover, KS/Andover Central) took the plate next, taking an 0-2 count before a stolen base by Hedgecorth prompted a throwing error by the Tritons catcher, allowing Hedgecorth to come home for the game-winning run.
It was a good day at the plate for the Miners, with seven different batters recording hits. Hooper's 2-for-3 for one run and two RBIs was the best batting percentage on the team today. Starting pitcher
Dylan Bates (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West) recorded a career-high seven strikeouts in a 5.1 inning outing.
What's Next
The Miners play games 2 and 3 against UMSL in a doubleheader that starts tomorrow at noon.
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