ST. LOUIS, MO -- Missouri S&T Baseball improved to 5-1 on Wednesday afternoon after an 8-2 road victory against Missouri-St. Louis.
Dylan Bates (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West) picked up his second win of the season, while
Ethan Payne (Bentonville, AR/Bentonville) picked up his first save with the Miners.
Both teams got two on base in the first inning, with the Miners' coming on a
Drew Baugus (Kirkwood, MO/Kirkwood) single and
Garrett Meyer (Jacksonville, IL/Jacksonville) walk. All four runners would be left stranded though, but the Miners scored the first runs of the game in the following inning, getting singles from
Aiden Cizek (Wildwood, MO/Lafayette) and
Scott Thompson (Greeley, CO/University) to start off the second and eventually scoring a pair of runs after an UMSL fielding error.
The Miners pitching staff held the Tritons hitless through the first four innings, getting contributions from Bates,
Logan Slinkard (Affton, MO/Lutheran South), and
Andrew Hedgecorth (Smithville, MO/Smithville) in that stretch. The Miners however continued to get base hits, Addin a double by Meyer in the third and a single by
Bricen Smith (Perry, GA/Mount de Sales Academy) in the fifth while maintaining a 2-1 advantage.
Missouri-St. Louis strung together three positive at bats in the bottom of the fifth, recording a walk and back-to-back singles to score their first run of the contest. The Miners quickly shut down any UMSL momentum the following inning, scoring two more runs after a single by
Will Muench (Wentzville, MO/Timberland) and crafty baserunning from Thompson. S&T's bullpen made short work of the Tritons in the next two innings, getting through in just six at bats while the offense added another run in the seventh on another UMSL fielding error.
The Tritons found some life in the bottom of the eighth, taking advantage of a pair of S&T errors to put runners in scoring position before adding a run on a single through the left side. The Miners got out of trouble later in the inning, turning a double play in the final at bat to get out of the inning. Just like they did in the sixth, the Miners immediately responded in the following inning, getting a single from Smith and a 2 RBI home run from Meyer to extend their lead to 8-2 before holding on in the bottom of the ninth to claim their 5th consecutive win.
Meyer's home run made him S&T's leaders for RBIs on the day with two. Baugus and Thompson each scored twice, recording a hit apiece, while Smith, Cizek and Meyer each had two hits. The Miners utilized six pitchers during the nine-inning contest, getting three strikeouts, two of which came from
Nate Donovan (Ballwin, MO/Parkway South).
What's Next
S&T will be in Springfield, Missouri at the Drury Invite over the weekend, with games against Washburn, Indianapolis, and Drury on tap.
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