ROLLA, Mo. -- Missouri S&T Baseball defeated the Rockhurst Hawks in both ends of a conference doubleheader today, winning 13-4 and 14-6. The victories extend the Miners' winning streak to ten, tying the program record for most wins in a row. The Miners' ten wins are also tied for the third-longest among active streaks in Division II this year. The team also tied the program record for stolen bases in a game, with ten in game one.
Game 1: Miners 13, Rockhurst 4
After a scoreless first two innings, Rockhurst became the first to score. The Hawks capitalized on a Miner error, scoring one run in the top of the third. S&T didn't allow that lead to last long though, putting together their biggest inning of the doubleheader in the bottom of the third.
Garrett Meyer (Jacksonville, IL/Jacksonville) was the first Miner to bring home a run, hitting a two RBI single to center field and scoring next at bat on a
Will Beckham (Mountain Home, AR/Mountain Home) single. With bases loaded two at bats later, the Miners added three more runs, getting RBIs from
Cory Chostner (Columbia, MO/Hickman),
Will Muench (Wentzville, MO/Timberland), and
Keaton Scott (Hannibal, MO/Hannibal) to make it a 6-1 game heading into the fourth.
The Hawks added another run in their next at bat, hitting a solo home run to make it 6-2. S&T answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth, getting singles from Meyer and
Denton Damgaard (Colorado Springs, CO/Cheyenne Mountain HS) while moving ahead 8-2.
Singles by Luke Schultz and Dakota Hanna earned the Hawks another run next inning, but any efforts to add more were cut short when the Miner infield put together a double play to end the inning early. The Miners added four runs in the bottom of the fifth, two of them coming on a triple by
Denton Damgaard (Colorado Springs, CO/Cheyenne Mountain HS).
The Miners and Hawks both added a run in their final innings at bat, making it a 13-4 final score. Meyer and Beckham each recorded three stolen bases, accounting for over half of the teams' record tying ten in the game.
Dylan Bates (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West) went five innings in the contest, only allowing two runs and striking out three to improve to 5-0 as a starter this season. Meyer and Beckham both went 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs each, while Damgaard went 2-for-3 with a team-high three RBIs.
Game 2: Miners 14, Rockhurst 6
An S&T error in the first at bat led to an extended top of the first that resulted in three unearned runs for Rockhurst. Damgaard took a chunk out of the Miners' deficit in the bottom of the first, hitting a two RBI double before a triple by Meyer in the second inning tied the game at 3-all.
Rockhurst and S&T exchanged unearned runs in the third and fourth innings, but the Miners used the bottom of the fourth to double their score. A leadoff single by
Bricen Smith (Perry, GA/Mount de Sales Academy) got the ball rolling for S&T, with the second baseman scoring on a sacrifice fly by
Aiden Cizek (Wildwood, MO/Lafayette) later. Beckham and Chostner took walks and Damgaard reached on an error to set up a bases clearing double by Muench to make it 8-4.
The Hawks drew within two in top of the fifth, recording a single and a triple, but the Miners doubled up the visitors score again in the bottom of the inning by adding four more runs. Baugus hit a lead off triple, scoring on a wild pitch in the following at bat. Meyer, Beckham, and Cizek all hit singles in the inning, with the latter two recording RBIs on their hits. Beckham scored the final run of the inning, crossing home plate on a sacrifice fly by Muench.
S&T held the Hawks scoreless in the final two innings while adding two more runs of their own on a two RBI double by Damgaard. Donovan earned his second win of the series after coming in to pitch in the fourth, while
Ethan Payne (Bentonville, AR/Bentonville) picked up his third save of the season and the second of the season.
What's Next
S&T hosts Rockhurst for the fifth and final game of this week's homestand. First pitch set for 12pm.
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