ALLENDALE, Mich. — Missouri S&T Baseball extended their 2026 season on Friday morning, defeating No. 8 Kentucky Wesleyan 7-6. Down a run midway through the game and later watching a three-run advantage disappear, Missouri S&T answered every challenge with the poise of a postseason-tested club. The Miners erupted for four runs in the sixth inning, then turned to timely pitching and defense late to secure a the victory over Kentucky Wesleyan in NCAA Midwest Regional action.
The Miners struck first in the third inning after Keaton Scott (Hannibal, MO/Hannibal) worked a walk and eventually came home on a two-out RBI single from Bricen Smith (Perry, GA/Mount de Sales Academy). Smith later stole second to keep pressure on the Panthers.
Kentucky Wesleyan answered in the bottom half on a wild pitch, but Missouri S&T reclaimed the lead an inning later with smart situational baseball. Garrett Meyer (Jacksonville, IL/Jacksonville) opened the fourth with a single, advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Denton Damgaard (Colorado Springs, CO/Cheyenne Mountain HS), stole third, and then raced home on Will Beckham's (Mountain Home, AR/Mountain Home) sacrifice fly to left field for a 2-1 advantage.
Jake Schisler (Quincy, IL/Quincy Notre Dame) settled in effectively through the middle innings for the Miners, repeatedly working out of traffic to protect the Miners' lead. Missouri S&T's defense also backed him with several clean plays, including a sixth-inning double play by Nick Krodinger (DeSoto, MO/DeSoto) and Will Muench (Wentzville, MO/Timberland).
Kentucky Wesleyan briefly moved ahead in the fifth when Liam Hutson launched a two-run homer, but the Miners responded immediately with their biggest offensive surge of the day.
Damgaard opened the sixth inning by hammering a game-tying solo home run to center field, instantly swinging momentum back toward Missouri S&T. The Miners continued to apply pressure from there as Aiden Cizek (Wildwood, MO/Lafayette) walked and Keaton Scott (Hannibal, MO/Hannibal) followed with a single before Will Muench (Wentzville, MO/Timberland) delivered an RBI knock to give S&T the lead once again. Smith drew a bases-loaded walk to force home another run, and Krodinger followed with an RBI fielder's choice to cap a four-run inning that pushed the Miners in front 6-3.
Kentucky Wesleyan mounted another push in the seventh, tying the game at 6-6 after a pair of RBI hits, but Missouri S&T again produced the decisive response.
With one out in the eighth, Muench was hit by a pitch and eventually came around when Smith ripped a clutch RBI triple into center field, restoring the Miners' lead at 7-6.
From there, Missouri S&T's bullpen and defense closed the door.
After entering during the seventh inning, Dylan Wipf (Oak Park, IL/River Forest) delivered 2.1 scoreless innings to earn his sixth save of the season. The right-hander stranded the tying run in the eighth by fielding a hard hit ground ball back at the mound before finishing off the Panthers in the ninth with another groundout to pitcher.
Schisler earned the victory after allowing four runs across 6.1 innings while helping keep the Panthers off balance for much of the morning.
Smith led the Miners offensively by going 2-for-4 with three RBIs, including the go-ahead triple in the eighth. Scott added a pair of hits and scored twice, while Damgaard's sixth-inning homer provided one of the game's defining moments. Meyer also created havoc on the bases with two stolen bases and a run scored.
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