JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri S&T Baseball won its first outright regular-season title since 1972 today, defeating the Lincoln Blue Tigers in both ends of a doubleheader to improve to 25-6 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The Miners secured the title in dramatic fashion, scoring eight runs in the final inning of a comeback victory.
Game 1: Miners 11, Blue Tigers 3
After giving up a pair of singles in the first, Dylan Bates (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West) got out of trouble by striking out the last two batters of the inning. The Miners then grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the second after back-to-back doubles by Aiden Cizek (Wildwood, MO/Lafayette) and Caleb Horsey (Springdale, AR/Springdale). However, the Blue Tigers responded with a solo home run in the bottom of the inning to make it 1-1.
Garrett Meyer (Jacksonville, IL/Jacksonville) hit a leadoff triple in the top of the fourth, scoring along with Denton Damgaard (Colorado Springs, CO/Cheyenne Mountain HS) four at-bats later after an error by Lincoln. Hits from Keaton Scott (Hannibal, MO/Hannibal) and Drew Baugus (Kirkwood, MO/Kirkwood) scored two more runs in the inning, with the latter stealing home later to cap the scoring at five as the Miners moved ahead 6-1.
The Miners threatened again in the fifth by loading the bases, but it was the Blue Tigers who came away with runs in the inning after a four-hit bottom of the fifth that cut the S&T lead to 6-3. S&T's offense went to work in the top of the sixth, getting hits from Damgaard, Cizek, and Scott Thompson (Greeley, CO/University) to jump out to an 11-3 lead. Dylan Wipf (Oak Park, IL/River Forest) and Nate Donovan (Ballwin, MO/Parkway South) didn't give up a single hit the rest of the game, while Wipf struck out two in the sixth to help secure the win.
Game 2: Miners 13, Blue Tigers 8
Lincoln grabbed the early lead in game two, taking advantage of a pair of S&T errors to score a run. They added two more runs in the second inning, hitting three singles.
S&T's first run came in the third, with singles by Beckham, Baugus, and Landen Roberts (St. Clair, MO/St. Clair) contributing. They added two more runs in the following inning, with a two-run homer by Thompson tying the game.
The Miners took their first lead of the game in the fifth, getting an RBI from Damgaard to take a 4-3 lead, but Lincoln responded with a run of its own in the bottom of the inning. S&T answered back with another run in the sixth, but the Blue Tigers doubled their score later in the inning to go up 8-5.
A pair of hit-by-pitches and a single by Cizek loaded the bases for S&T in the seventh. Two fielding errors by Lincoln and a sacrifice fly by Beckham scored five runs, putting S&T ahead 10-8. A three-RBI home run by Meyer extended the lead to 13-8 heading into the bottom of the seventh. Wipf gave up a hit to start the inning but retired the next three batters, striking out Felix Marquez to seal S&T's regular-season title.
Cizek went 5-for-6 during the doubleheader and led the team in runs scored with five. Thompson led the team in RBIs with four, two of which came on a home run. Wipf struck out six in 3.1 innings of work, earning the win in game two.
What's Next
The Miners close their regular season tomorrow with a nine-inning game against Lincoln at noon.
Sign up for our email blast at https://minerathletics.com/subscribe.aspx
Follow Miners Baseball on X and Instagram at @miners_bsb
