ROLLA, Mo. -- Missouri S&T Baseball completed a Series sweep against RV Illinois Springfield on Sunday, winning both ends of a doubleheader in extra inning walk offs.
Game 1: Miners 3, Prairie Stars 2 (10 innings)
Illinois Springfield grabbed an early lead in game one, getting a two-run homer from Kaden Griffitts in the top of the first. They would add a double in the third inning but leave two stranded, while the Miners picked up their first hit of the game in the bottom of the inning with a single by
Scott Thompson (Greeley, CO/University).
A single by
Denton Damgaard (Colorado Springs, CO/Cheyenne Mountain HS) in the bottom of the fourth set the stage for a game-tying home run by
Nick Krodinger (DeSoto, MO/DeSoto), with the fifth year shortstop sending the ball over the left field fence to score two runs.
Andrew Hedgecorth (Smithville, MO/Smithville) went 6.1 innings as starter, giving up five hits and two earned runs before turning the mound over to
Dylan Wipf (Oak Park, IL/River Forest) in the seventh inning. Wipf held the Prairie Stars scoreless in 3.1 innings of work, striking out six in that time.
The game was scheduled to be a seven-inning contest, but remained knotted up at 2-2 and pushed into extra innings. Illinois Springfield threatened in the top of the eighth, getting a runner in scoring position before Wipf struck out Kody Morton to end the inning. They put a man on second base again in the top of the tenth, but the Miners got out of trouble with
Ethan Payne (Bentonville, AR/Bentonville) stepping in to end the inning on a ground out to third base.
Landen Roberts (St. Clair, MO/St. Clair) hit a single in the bottom of the third, giving the Miners a baserunner with just one out on the board with the top of the batting order coming up to bat.
Drew Baugus (Kirkwood, MO/Kirkwood) came up to bat next, swinging and missing on a full count pitch that also appeared to result in Roberts being caught stealing to end the inning. However, the Prairie Stars catcher was called for interference on Baugus' swinging, putting him on first and allowing Roberts to remain on base at second. A single by
Bricen Smith (Perry, GA/Mount de Sales Academy) loaded the bases, followed by
Garrett Meyer (Jacksonville, IL/Jacksonville) taking a pitch on the arm for a hit by pitch that brought the winning run home.
Game 2: Miners 5, Prairie Stars 4 (8 innings)
Game two was turned into a seven-inning game after game one's ten innings. Griffitts batted in the first run again for UIS, hitting a single to allow them to take a 1-0 advantage. The Prairie Stars quickly added to that lead, getting a single and a home run in their first two at bats the second inning and hitting three singles in the third to make it a 4-0 game.
Krodinger provided another momentum shifting swing in the bottom of the third, putting the Miners on the board with a home run in the first at bat of the third inning. S&T had an opportunity to add runs in fourth, getting bases loaded with two outs before a fly out left the baserunners stranded.
Logan Slinkard (Affton, MO/Lutheran South) and
Nate Donovan (Ballwin, MO/Parkway South) combined to go 3.3 innings, with
Zander Street (Festus, MO/St. Pius X) taking over pitching duties in the fifth after UIS' Johnny Wendling hit a double. Street proceeded to strike out the first three batters he faced, adding two more Ks in the seventh.
Trailing 4-1 in the final inning, the Miners got another key hit from Krodinger after he hit a single to right field on the first pitch of the inning. A pair of hit by pitches loaded the bases for the Miners with one out of the board, bringing Smith up to bat with the tying run on first. Smith hit a single to score Krodinger and keep the bases loaded, leading to a pitching change for the Prairie Stars. A bases loaded walk for Meyer and a fielders choice by
Will Beckham (Mountain Home, AR/Mountain Home) each scored a run, tying the game at 4-4 and sending to teams to extra innings for the second time today.
Street was efficient in the top of the eighth, throwing just 13 pitches and retiring the Prairie Stars in order to put the Miners in position to walk it off.
Aiden Cizek (Wildwood, MO/Lafayette) singled in the first at bat of the eighth, advancing to second on a wild pitch. Krodinger followed that up with another critical plate appearance, hitting a bunt single to put runners on the corners with no outs. After an S&T strikeout and a stolen base by Krodinger, Roberts stepped up to the plate with runners on second and third and one out. In the first pitch of the at bat, Roberts looked to bunt to force a squeeze play but pulled back. The UIS catcher struggled to corral the ball, giving Cizek just enough time to steal home and end the game at 5-4, completing the series sweep over the Prairie Stars.
The Miners' pitching staff totaled 31 strikeouts over the series with a team ERA of 3.18. They only allowed 12 runs against a program that entered the series averaging 10 runs per game.
Nick Krodinger's (DeSoto, MO/DeSoto) performances in games 3 and 4 ended him atop the S&T batting list for the series, hitting .571 with two home runs and three RBIs.
Garrett Meyer (Jacksonville, IL/Jacksonville) led the team in RBIs, hitting seven to reach 100 career RBIs. Baugus went 5-of-12 at the plate, leading the team in runs and stolen bases with six and four, respectively.
What's Next
The Miners will host #9 Pitt State for a midweek on Wednesday before traveling to Romeoville for a series against the Lewis Flyers.
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