May 02, 2010

Baseball Wins Final Game, Splits With Miners

Game 1
Game 2

ST. LOUIS, MO. – Freshman Drew Standefer recorded three hits, including the game winner, and three RBIs to help the University of Missouri-St. Louis baseball team to a season-closing 11-6 victory over Missouri S&T Sunday afternoon in the second game of a Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader. The Miners won the opener, 11-5.

The Tritons end the 2010 campaign with a 15-37 record, including an 11-21 mark in the GLVC. Missouri S&T moves to 19-33 and 14-18 in the league and awaits a possible bid to the GLVC Tournament depending on the outcome of the Rockhurst and Maryville series which concludes tomorrow.

In the victory, the Tritons scored three runs, all with two outs, on four hits in the fifth inning to get in the scoring column and trim the deficit to 4-3. Junior Zach Hulbert had an RBI single, while senior Erik Walk delivered an RBI double to right center that nearly left the park, but stayed in by hitting the top part of the fence.

Miners centerfielder Matt Kempin then aided the Tritons tie the game at 4-4, dropping a fly ball hit by junior Manny Flores that allowed freshman Drew Standefer to score from third.

Back-to-back fielding errors with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning helped UMSL to load the bases and allowed Standefer to knock out a bases-clearing double to deep right field, giving the Tritons a 7-4 advantage they would not relinquish.

UMSL then put the game out of reach with a four-run eighth inning.

The Tritons finished with a 15-9 hitting advantage. Walk also tallied three hits and three RBIs, while junior Kenny Bechaud added another three hits.

Junior Andrew Peterson picked up the win in relief, working one and one-thirds of an inning and allowing just one unearned run on one hit.

Sophomore Austin Schuler got the start and allowed four runs on seven hits, but pitched three and two-thirds scoreless innings before giving way to Peterson. Schuler also struck out six and issued five walks.

UMSL recorded just six hits in the opener, while the Miners notched nine off the Tritons’ pitching staff, including six in the second inning in which the visitors scored eight runs.

Senior Kenny Ford took the loss, allowing five earned runs on six hits in one and two-thirds of an inning.

Junior Andrew Keating had a team-best two hits.