EAST PEORIA -- The Miners lost their first game of the day 5-1 to Indianapolis, dropping down into the losers half of the bracket where they defeated regionally-ranked McKendree 7-5 to stay alive and advance to day three of the tournament.
Game 1: Indianapolis 5, Missouri S&T 1
Indianapolis' Cheyenne Eads walked three of the first four batters she faced, loading the bases with one out in the first before getting out of trouble on a pair of fly outs. The Hounds would get a runner in scoring position in the top of the 2nd, getting a single and a stolen base out of Sydney Oliver before the inning ended on a ground out to
Taylor Nelson (Jefferson City, MO/Phillips Exeter Academy).
A pair of early walks for UIndy in the 3rd set up the first runs of the day, with the Hounds hitting two doubles to help score three in the inning. A single by
Taylor Nelson (Jefferson City, MO/Phillips Exeter Academy) in the third would be the Miners first hit of the day but lead nowhere as UIndy got out of a 2 outs-2 runners on situation to maintain their lead.
The Hounds hit another pair of doubles in the top of the 5th, helping extend their advantage to 5-0 and leading to a pitching change for the Miners.
Tori Thompson's (Chandler, AZ/) solo home run in the bottom of the 6th would finally get S&T on the board to make it 5-1. The next two batters would go down on a foul out and a strikeout looking though, sending the game into the final inning with S&T trailing by four.
Joselyn Ulloa (Chicago, IL/) and
Kaylee LaChappell (Oswego, IL/) each recorded singles to start the bottom of the 7th, but the Hounds put the game away in the next three at bats, taking the game 5-1.
Game 2: Missouri S&T 7, McKendree 5
The Bearcats came out swinging, hitting three singles and a double to score two in the top of the 1st. However, the Miners did manage to prevent a third run during the inning, executing a relay from
Allie Kelly (Park Hills, MO/Central) to Nelson to
Jordyn Davis (Broken Arrow, OK/) to get the tag out at home.
A single by
Trista Grobe (DeSoto, MO/DeSoto) was followed by a Nelson double in the bottom of the 1st, bringing the shortstop home and cutting the Bearcats' lead in half. In the bottom of the 2nd a walk followed by a single by Davis set the Miners up with runners on first and third with no outs. A single by
Sydney Anderson (Elkhart, IA/North Polk) would bring two runs home later in the inning, helping S&T put up three to take a 4-2 lead.
Missouri S&T kept the runs coming in the 3rd... this time it was
Ty Neal (Enid, OK/Kremlin-Hilldale) who got the ball rolling, sending a home run deep to left center to make it a 5-2 game. Singles by Davis and Kelly helped S&T get one more run in the inning, extending the lead to 6-2.
The Miners nearly got out of the 4th in three at bats, but a wild pitch on a swinging strikeout allowed the Bearcats to put a runner on. A walk and a home run would ensue for McKendree, making it a one run game at 6-5.
Grobe hit a lead off double in the bottom of the 4th, scoring later on yet another single from Davis to help S&T go up 7-5. McKendree had an opportunity in the 5th but failed to bring a runner home, despite having two on with only one out. Miller drew outs in 8 of McKendree's last 9 at bats, sending the Bearcats home and giving S&T the 7-5 victory over the #8 team in the Midwest region.
Davis had her best game at the plate as a Miner, going 3-for-3 with a run and an RBI to help S&T get the win over McKendree. Thompson and Neal both hit home runs today, their fourth and third of the season, respectively. In the circle, Miller picked up 7 strikeouts between today's two games, pitching 11.2 innings.
What's Next
The Miners face #5 Illinois Springfield in another elimination game tomorrow morning at 11am. A win would advance them to the 1:30pm game to face the loser of #1 Drury and #6 Indianapolis.
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