ALLENDALE, Mich. — A historic season for Missouri S&T baseball came to a close Saturday afternoon as the Miners fell to Grand Valley State, 7-4, in the NCAA Midwest Region 1 Championship game at GVSU Baseball Field.
While the final result ended the Miners' postseason run, it did not diminish one of the most accomplished and memorable seasons in program history. Missouri S&T finished the year with a 36-20 record, captured the program's first Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) regular season championship since 2019, and secured its first outright conference title since 1972.
The Miners also rewrote the program record book throughout the spring, highlighted by a school-record 19-game winning streak and a program-best 25 conference victories.
NCAA Division II Midwest Region 1 Championship: Lakers 7, Miners 4
The Miners threatened in the opening inning of the championship game, getting a leadoff single from Drew Baugus (Kirkwood, MO/Kirkwood). He would work his way over to third later in the inning, attempting to score on a double steal that saw the junior outfield get tagged out by the smallest of margins to end the inning.
Missouri S&T struck first in the second inning, with Will Beckham (Mountain Home, AR/Mountain Home) driving home Denton Damgaard (Colorado Springs, CO/Cheyenne Mountain HS) shortly after the latter hit a double. Grand Valley State answered with a three-run homer in the third, giving them a 3-1 advantage.
The Miners chipped away inning by inning. Beckham tripled and later scored in the fifth on an RBI groundout from Keaton Scott (Hannibal, MO/Hannibal) to cut the deficit to one. The Miners then tied the game in the sixth when Baugus stole second before eventually scoring on a Garrett Meyer (Jacksonville, IL/Jacksonville) sacrifice fly.
The Miners retook the lead in top of the seventh after Aiden Cizek (Wildwood, MO/Lafayette) reached on an error and Beckham delivered another key hit. Keaton Scott (Hannibal, MO/Hannibal) later brought home the go-ahead run on an RBI fielder's choice to make it 4-3.
Andrew Hedgecorth (Smithville, MO/Smithville) turned in a strong outing on the mound, carrying the lead into the eighth inning while allowing just three runs through seven innings against one of the nation's top offenses. The junior right hander retired thirteen consecutive batters in a 7-inning performance, striking out two and no giving up any free bases.
Missouri S&T threatened again in the eighth after consecutive singles from Bricen Smith (Perry, GA/Mount de Sales Academy) and Nick Krodinger (DeSoto, MO/DeSoto), but Grand Valley State escaped the jam before rallying in the bottom half to regain control. The Lakers hit two singles and a double to start the inning, tying the game at 4-4. Dylan Wipf (Oak Park, IL/River Forest) entered to try and minimize the damage, taking the mound with 0 outs and runners on first and third. He allowed just one hit the rest of the inning, but a sac fly and a wild pitch led to Grand Valley building a 7-4 lead before the eighth ended and the Lakers closed out the game in the top of the ninth with their ace reliever Ethan Houghtaling.
Beckham ended the day 2-for-4 at the plate, adding a run and an RBI. Scott led the team in RBIs with two.
Despite the loss, the Miners' season will be remembered among the greatest campaigns in school history. Among the team accomplishments:
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School-record 19-game winning streak
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Program-record 25 GLVC victories
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First GLVC regular season title since 2019
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First outright regular season championship since 1972
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NCAA Midwest Regional appearance
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Second consecutive trip to both the GLVC Championship game and the NCAA Regionals
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Highest ranking in NCAA Regionals in program history
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Deepest run in the NCAA Regionals since 2016
The Miners also saw several players etch their names permanently into the record books:
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Smith tied the program record for runs scored in a season with 65, matching Meyer's mark set in 2025
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Krodinger established a new career program record with 79 walks
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Meyer set a new single-season school record with 67 RBIs
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Baugus posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in 138 chances, setting a new program standard
From the historic winning streak to a conference championship and a return to NCAA postseason play, the Miners established a foundation that will be remembered as one of the defining seasons in Missouri S&T baseball history.
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