Box Score

MARION, Ill. -- Missouri S&T Baseball defeated No. 4 Drury, 8-4, in today's Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Championship game. Starting pitcher Dylan Bates (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt West) recorded eight strikeouts to help the Miners advance in the winners bracket.

After Bates retired the Panthers in order to open the contest, the Miners responded by taking an early lead in the bottom of the first. Leadoff batter Drew Baugus (Kirkwood, MO/Kirkwood) reached on a bunt single and quickly advanced to third after stealing second and advancing again on an errant pickoff attempt by Drury's pitcher. He scored two at-bats later on a sacrifice fly to right field by Garrett Meyer (Jacksonville, IL/Jacksonville).

Both pitching staffs performed well in the early innings, with Bates recording six strikeouts between the second and sixth while holding the Panthers hitless through six frames.

After Keaton Scott (Hannibal, MO/Hannibal) reached on an infield error in the bottom of the fifth, Baugus added another bunt single to put runners on first and second with no outs. Three consecutive walks by the Panthers' pitching staff brought home a pair of runs for the Miners, while a fourth walk later in the inning extended the S&T lead to 4-0 heading into the sixth.

Drury recorded its first hit of the day on a two-run home run to left field by Colin McClure. Bates limited the damage, however, ending the inning with a bunt popup to first base and a double play.

Drury's Connor Bain added another hit in the seventh, eventually prompting a pitching change for S&T. Dylan Wipf (Oak Park, IL/River Forest) entered the game with two outs and the bases loaded and escaped the jam with a fielder's choice at second base. Wipf went on to retire three of the four batters he faced in the eighth inning, recording a strikeout and keeping the score at 4-2.

Nick Hooper (Grain Valley, MO/Grain Valley) sparked a late rally in the bottom of the eighth with a two-out single. He later scored following singles by Baugus and Scott, pushing the lead to 5-2. Bricen Smith (Perry, GA/Mount de Sales Academy) followed with a single to right field, with Smith, Baugus, and Scott all scoring on a Drury fielding error during the play to extend the Miners' advantage to 8-2.

The Panthers added two runs in the final inning with a single and a double before Wipf drew a fly out to left field to record the final out.

Baugus and Smith both recorded multiple hits in the game, with Baugus leading the team with a .600 batting average. Baugus also paced the Miners with three runs scored, while Meyer's two RBIs were a team high. Bates and Wipf combined for nine strikeouts, with Bates' eight strikeouts marking the most by a Miner in the GLVC Tournament since Dalton Erger recorded eight against Illinois Springfield in 2018.

What's Next
The Miners will face the winner of No. 2 Missouri-St. Louis and No. 3 Indianapolis tomorrow at 2 p.m. in the GLVC Semifinals.

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