UMR’s McCormick having big summer

By John Kean
UMR Sports Information

QUINCY, Ill. – Thomas McCormick, an outfielder for the University of Missouri-Rolla baseball team, was named as the most valuable player for the first half of the season in the Central Illinois Collegiate League.

McCormick, the league's leading hitter with a .353 batting average, is playing this summer for the Quincy Gems and has six home runs and 27 runs batted in for the Gems in 31 games. He also leads the CICL with a .588 slugging percentage as 15 of his 42 hits on the season have been

for extra bases and has scored 25 runs on the year.

McCormick leads the Gems in hitting, home runs, runs batted in, doubles and runs scored. Earlier this season, he was the recipient of a weekly award from the CICL.

The outfielder will be a junior at UMR next spring; he batted .286 with a team-high 20 runs batted in during the Miners' 2007 season.

PRINT a copy of this story!

top

UMR’s Cogan named all-region

By John Kean
UMR Sports Information

ROLLA – Brandon Cogan (Missouri City, Texas/Hightower), a freshman on the University of Missouri-Rolla baseball team, has been named to the Daktronics All-Great Lakes region first team for the recently completed 2007 season.

By being named to the first team in the program which is in its inaugural year, Cogan will be on the national ballot for All-America honors. That team will be released next week in conjunction with the Division II World Series in Montgomery, Ala.

Cogan was selected to the team as a utility player, the same spot in which he earned first-team honors from the Great Lakes Valley Conference. He finished the season as the Miners' leading hitter and was one of the team's top starting pitchers for much of the 2007 campaign.

Cogan split time between pitching and second base this season and ended the 2007 season with a .351 average and 13 runs batted in. On the mound, he was 3-2 with a 3.34 earned run average in 35 innings of work; he also posted a shutout in a 1-0 victory over Lewis in late March. The Miners finished the 2007 season with a 20-27 record.

PRINT a copy of this story!

top

Miner baseball drops high-scoring games

By John Kean
UMR Sports Information

RENSSELAER, Ind. – The score resembled something that harkened from games that the University of Missouri-Rolla baseball team played with aluminum bats, but the end result was a loss for UMR Sunday afternoon, April 22.

Saint Joseph's -- which used big innings to win both games of Saturday's double-header over UMR -- had three innings with at least four runs Sunday and came away with an 18-11 victory in a see-saw Great Lakes Valley Conference contest at Gil Hodges Field.

The teams traded the lead throughout the afternoon, but the Pumas scored 10 times off four Miner pitchers in the sixth and seventh innings to pull away for the win.

After spotting the Pumas a run in the first, the Miners tied the game in the second when Matt Campbell singled home Brandon Cogan. UMR then took the lead in the third when Cogan delivered a two-run single to give the Miners a 3-1 lead.

Saint Joseph's tied the contest with a two-run third, but UMR regained the advantage in the fifth by scoring a pair. Robbie Martin's one-out triple scored Cody Bass to put the Miners back in front, then Martin scored on a hit by Cogan.

The lead was shortlived, however, as the Pumas plated five runs in the bottom half of the inning to knock out starter Stephen Read. Kevin Diete's RBI single tied the score, then Ryan Murray greeted reliever Matt Campbell with a two-run double to put SJC in the lead.

UMR caught up again by scoring three in the seventh. Consecutive hits by Eaf Redden, Martin and Cogan to begin the inning loaded the bases, then Thomas McCormick knocked in Redden with the Miners' fourth straight single. UMR closed to within 8-7 on a fielder's choice, then Yaimel Javier-Cury singled to the opposite field to even the score at eight.

The Miner bullpen, however, struggled in the seventh as three pitchers were used in an inning in which the Pumas scored four to take the lead for good. A leadoff triple off the bat of Matt Wille was followed by a run-scoring hit by Diete, then a two-run single by Pat Luehring pushed the lead to three.

UMR got one run back in the eighth on an RBI single by Martin, but the Pumas put the game away by scoring six times in the bottom half. The inning was highlighted by a two-run triple by Luerhing and a two-run homer by Mike Pericht.

The Miners did get two more runs across in the ninth as Bass and Redden drove in runs with hits.

Cogan and McCormick had four hits each for the Miners Sunday while Redden and Martin had three apiece. UMR had a season-high 19 hits in the game.

Andrew Page, who entered the game at the start of the seventh inning, took the loss for UMR.

A pair of big innings proved to be costly to the UMR baseball team Saturday afternoon, April 21, as it dropped both ends of a doubleheader to Saint Joseph's in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.

The Pumas scored all three of their runs in the fourth inning of a 3-2 game one victory, then used a five-run outburst in the fifth inning of the nightcap en route to a 6-2 win.

UMR grabbed the lead in the opener by scoring in the top half of the fourth when Owen Madison hit a sacrifice fly to score Robbie Martin.

However, the Miners left two runners on base in the inning; UMR stranded seven runners in the first four innings.

The Pumas tallied three runs in the bottom half of the inning off UMR starter Brandon Cogan, aided by two passed balls and an error. Those miscues put leadoff hitter Matt Reimer on third and he scored on a hit by Matt Wille. Saint Joseph's got its other two runs in the inning on an

infield ground out and another hit later in the frame.

The Miners closed to within a run in the sixth when Martin led off the inning with a hit and later scored on a two-out single by Josh Hanrahan.

The Miners also got a runner on base in the seventh with two outs but left him stranded as well.

Hanrahan had two of the Miners' seven hits in game one.

In game two, Saint Joseph's took a 1-0 lead in the fourth, then knocked out starter Tavish Hill in the fifth with three straight hits and an error. That sparked the Pumas to a five-run inning, with Wille and Ryan

Murray delivering two-run singles during that frame. UMR got its two runs in the sixth. Matt Campbell reached on an error and

Cody Bass was hit by a pitch, then Joe Montgomery followed with a run-scoring double to bring in Campbell. Eaf Redden drove in Bass on a ground out, but that was all the Miners would get for the balance of the afternoon. The Miners left the bases loaded in both the seventh and

ninth innings.

Montgomery and Thomas McCormick had two hits each for UMR; the Miners had eight hits in game two.

UMR (16-22, 9-19 GLVC) will play a doubleheader Wednesday, April 25, at Rockhurst starting at 3 p.m.

PRINT a copy of this story!

top

Miner baseball takes season series from Drury

By John Kean
UMR Sports Information

ROLLA – Matt Campbell wasn’t quite as sharp as he was a week ago when he shut down Drury University, but he was good enough on the mound Tuesday, April 17 to get the Miners another win.

Campbell, who earned the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Pitcher of the Week award by throwing a two-hit shutout at the Panthers last Thursday in Springfield, gave up two runs and eight hits over seven innings Tuesday and picked up his fourth win of the year as UMR topped Drury 6-2 at the UMR Baseball Field.

UMR improved to 16-19 overall and 9-16 in GLVC play. Drury fell to 20-18 and 15-10.

The victory gave the Miners the season series over the Panthers, who resumed a varsity program this season after a hiatus of more than 30 years.

The Panthers grabbed the lead in the game when John Tollenaar doubled home a pair of runs with two outs in the second inning. UMR cut the lead in half in the bottom of the frame when Andrew Vance singled with two outs and scored when Yaimel Javier-Cury doubled over the head of center fielder Harrison Waters.

UMR took the lead when it scored five times in the fourth. Brandon Cogan started the inning with a single to center, then after he was sacrificed to second Robbie Martin drew a walk. Javier-Cury reached on an infield single that deflected off the glove of pitcher Ricky Meinhold to load the bases, then Gerad Fox surprised the Panthers by laying down a bunt up the third base line to score Cogan.

Joe Montgomery followed Fox’s bunt single by rapping a single between third and short to score two and give UMR a 4-2 lead. Thomas McCormick then lofted a ball down the left field line that went off the glove of a diving leftfielder Jason Hall along the line; the ball was ruled fair which allowed Fox and Montgomery to score.

Campbell pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth and around a couple of baserunners in the seventh before turning the game over to Tavish Hill, who struck out Hall with two runners on in the eight. Drury loaded the bases again in the ninth off Brian Ricker, but the junior hurler got Tyler Wright on a called third strike to end the game.

UMR outhit the Panthers 12-11, with Fox getting three hits and Javier-Cury picking up two.

Campbell improved to 4-3 on the season and along with the two other Miner hurlers forced the Panthers to strand 13 runners in the game.

The Miners are scheduled to play a GLVC double-header at Saint Joseph’s (Ind.) on Saturday, April 21.

PRINT a copy of this story!

top

Miner baseball splits with Wisconsin-Parkside

By John Kean
UMR Sports Information

ROLLA – The University of Missouri-Rolla baseball team got just enough timely hitting in the first game of the double-header on Sunday, April 15 to get a 4-2 victory over Wisconsin-Parkside, but couldn't get the key hit it needed late in game two and had to settle for a split as the Rangers took a 5-4 decision in game two.

UMR fell behind in the opener after the Rangers scored a pair of unearned runs off starter Brandon Cogan in the second. A throwing error on a sacrifice bunt -- after it appeared that Cole McCoy had run outside the baseline to avoid Colt Johnson's tag -- led to the first run of the

inning. The second run scored on a double play with the bases loaded.

The score stayed 2-0 until the Miners batted around in the fourth and scored all four of their runs.

With one out, Robbie Martin was hit by a pitch, then walks to Owen Madison and Josh Hanrahan loaded the bases. Gerad Fox singled between first and second to drive home Martin, then UW-Parkside reliever Brandon Aikens walked Thomas McCormick to force in the tying run.

Joe Montgomery followed that with a single up the middle to score Hanrahan and Fox with the go-ahead runs.

Cogan pitched into the fifth before turning the game over to Tavish Hill, who threw two scoreless innings, and Brian Rickert, who walked two batters with two outs but struck out A.J. Marquardt to end the game to pick up his fourth save. Cogan got the win to improve to 3-1 on the year.

The Rangers got a first inning run to get on top in the nightcap, but the Miners tied the game when a throwing error by Marquardt allowed Johnson to score in the second.

UMR then took a 3-1 lead in the third when Martin was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Cogan singled home a run. The Miners missed a chance for more when Martin was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a fly ball off the bat of Matt Campbell to end the inning.

Miner starter Stephen Read carried that advantage into the fifth, but the Rangers touched him for three runs with two outs to take the lead for good. A hit by Casey Garms scored Ryan Hopp, then after Andy Heller was hit by a pitch, Brad Frank doubled into the gap in right center to

score both runners and give the Rangers a 4-3 lead.

UW-Parkside added a run in the sixth when Tom Rawski's infield single brought home Marquardt.

UMR got to within 5-4 in the seventh when Campbell delivered a sacrifice fly, but Ranger reliever Andy Yushta, who entered the game after the sacrifice fly, got pinch-hitter Thomas McCormick to pop out to end the seventh and gave up only a walk in the ninth to save the victory for the visitors.

The Miners had 12 hits in game two, three coming from Cogan and two apiece by Fox, Cody Bass and Andrew Vance.

Campbell was selected Monday as the Great Lakes Valley Conference's "Pitcher of the Week" after throwing a two-hit shutout Thursday in the Miners’ 2-0 victory at Drury.

Campbell struck out four in his 105-pitch outing and didn’t allow a hit after the fourth inning, retiring 16 straight batters in one stretch.

The only Panther base-runner after the fourth came on a two-out walk in the seventh, but Campbell got the next hitter to hit into a fielder’s choice to end the game. The shutout was the Miners’ first in a nine-inning contest this season.

Campbell has a record of 3-3 with an earned run average of 2.74 on the season.

PRINT a copy of this story!

top

Miscues cost Miner baseball

By John Kean
UMR Sports Information

ROLLA – A couple of defensive miscues proved to be costly for the University of Missouri-Rolla baseball team Sunday afternoon, April 8, as Indianapolis took the rubber game of the Great Lakes Valley Conference weekend series by the score of 5-3 at the UMR Baseball Field.

Four of the Greyhounds' five runs in the contest were unearned, due to three Miner errors and a passed ball. The first error came in the third inning when Daren Johnson's ground ball that would have ended the inning went through the legs of shortstop Cody Bass. Tim Bingham followed that

with a hit to score Jake Tranchant with the first run of the game.

Moments later, Bingham took off for second and got caught in a rundown long enough to allow Johnson to score the second run of the inning before he was tagged out.

The Miners tied the game in the fourth, which started when Bass was hit by a pitch. After a fielder's choice, back-to-back hits by Eaf Redden and Robbie Martin got the Miners on the board, then Colt Johnson delivered a two-out single to tie the contest.

Indianapolis came right back and capitalized on some UMR mistakes to retake the lead. Aryn Ross led off the inning with a double, then reached third when pitcher Stephen Read's throw was late on a sacrifice bunt attempt. A passed ball allowed Ross to score, then an RBI single off the bat of Kyle Stephenson made it 4-2.

A throwing error by Read on another bunted ball put runners on first and third, then the Greyhounds got their third run of the inning as Johnson hit into a double play.

UMR closed the gap to 5-3 in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Brandon Cogan and got the tying run to the plate in both the eighth and ninth innings. Redden was caught stealing to end the eighth, then Cogan -- who made a spectacular diving stop in the second inning to save a run -- singled with one out in the ninth but was stranded at second.

Read lost for only the second time in six decisions despite allowing just one earned run in seven innings. Both teams finished the day with eight hits; Redden had three for the Miners while Martin and Johnson had two apiece.

The Miners got their weekend series with the University of Indianapolis off to a good start when Eaf Redden's walk-off single gave them a 3-2 win in the opener, but couldn't complete the sweep as the Greyhounds won game two by a count of 12-2 at the UMR Baseball Field Saturday afternoon.

UMR won the opener as its first four runners reached base in the bottom of the seventh inning. Gerad Fox drew a walk to start the inning and went to second on a wild pitch. An error by Indianapolis pitcher Brent Zarney on Cody Bass' sacrifice bunt attempt put runners on first and

third, then Nick Zurweller was walked to load the bases. Redden followed that with a single to center to plate Fox with the game-winning run.

The Greyhounds took the initial lead in the game with a run in the third off UMR starter Mark Phillips, but the Miners tied the game an inning later when a balk scored Robbie Martin. Martin had tripled with one out and after Colt Johnson was hit by a pitch, UIndy starter Aryn Ross

committed the balk that tied the score.

Indianapolis regained the lead in the top of the sixth when Dalan Dugger doubled and scored on a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt attempt, but the Miners drew even again in the bottom of the frame.

Pinch-hitter Joe Montgomery led off the inning with a hit, then an error allowed him to reach third with no outs. Johnson delivered a sacrifice fly with one out to bring him home with the tying run.

Brian Rickert, who got the Miners out of the sixth and who pitched around a two-out double in the seventh, got the win in relief. Phillips and Rickert combined to allow just six hits in the contest.

Game two was a defensive nightmare for the Miners, as they committed six errors behind the four pitchers who worked in the contest. The Greyhounds broke on top with three runs in the second and added three unearned runs in the third off losing pitcher Tavish Hill.

The Miners got their only runs in the fifth inning on a single by Montgomery, an RBI triple by Martin and a run-scoring ground out by Owen Madison.

UMR (13-17 overall, 6-14 GLVC) will play in Springfield against Drury Wednesday, April 11 at noon before returning home to play a weekend set with Wisconsin-Parkside.

PRINT a copy of this story!

top

Miner baseball blows 7-run lead; loses

By John Kean
UMR Sports Information

EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- The Miner baseball team was unable to hold onto a seven-run lead Tuesday afternoon and fell 9-8 to Southern Indiana, as the Eagles won the game in the bottom of the ninth on an RBI single by pinch-hitter Josh Malone.

The loss ended the Miners' four-game road winning streak and dropped them to 5-12 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play; UMR is now 12-15 overall on the year.

The Miners, who came into the contest fresh off a three-game sweep at Lewis over the weekend, jumped out of the gate with a seven-run first inning off USI starter Aaron Clark.

Clark, who shut out UMR last week in Rolla, was undermined by his own defense as the Eagles were charged with five errors in the opening inning. The frame started with an error that allowed Gerad Fox to reach base, then a sacrifice bunt and a hit by Nick Zurweller put runners on the corners.

Another error, this one a throwing error while trying to get a force out at second, allowed the first Miner run to score. That was followed by an run-scoring single off the bat of Robbie Martin to give UMR a two-run lead.

After an infield hit by Joe Montgomery loaded the bases, another error on a bad throw by second baseman Darin Mastroianni allowed two runs to cross the plate. That error was followed by yet another miscue, as a dropped pop up off the bat of Mark Phillips reloaded the bases.

An RBI ground out by Yaimel Javier-Cury made it 5-0, then the Eagles' fifth error of the inning, this on a throwing error by Clark, brought home two more runs to close the scoring in the first.

However, the Eagles bounced right back and plated three runs in the first and two in the second off UMR starter Ben Sherman, then tied the game off reliever Matt Campbell with two runs in the third.

But after getting the two off Campbell in his first inning of work, the Miner lefty shut down the Eagles for the next four innings, during which time the Miners got the lead back.

UMR regained the lead in the fifth as Cody Bass' infield hit scored Brandon Cogan, who led off the inning with a hit. The Miners eventually loaded the bases before the inning ended but couldn't push another run across.

In the eighth, Andy Draper retired the bottom two hitters in the USI order, but a two-out single by Bryan Rudden and a walk to Michael Beaven allowed Mastroianni to hit in the inning and the Eagle second baseman delivered a game-tying single. Draper then retired Hunter Slade to keep the game tied through eight.

UMR had a chance to get the lead back in the top of the ninth as Fox singled with two outs and stole second. Bass followed with a hit to center, but Fox was thrown out at the plate as he was trying to score the go-ahead run.

Matt Pleiss led off the bottom of the ninth with a hit and pinch-runner Chad Werry was sacrificed to second. After an intentional walk to Josh Jarboe, Malone singled to left to give USI its first and only lead of the game to end it.

UMR had 11 hits in the game as eight of the nine hitters in the Miner lineup had at least one hit each. Bass and Cogan had two hits each, but the Miners stranded 12 runners on base in the contest.

The Miners will host Indianapolis in a weekend series at the UMR Baseball Field starting Saturday, April 7, with a noon doubleheader. The teams will also play a single game on Sunday.

PRINT a copy of this story!

top

Miner baseball sweeps Lewis

By John Kean
UMR Sports Information

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – The calendar may have read April 1 -- aka April Fool's Day -- but this matter is true...

The Miner baseball team did something Sunday that it hasn't done in nearly three seasons -- sweep a series from a conference opponent.

UMR completed the three-game sweep over Lewis University by pulling out a 3-2 victory at Brennan Field, scoring a run in the seventh and two in the eighth on Thomas McCormick's two-run homer to overcome a 2-0 deficit.

The win, coupled with a pair of victories on Saturday, completed the Miners' first season sweep over a league foe since late in the 2004 season when UMR swept a series at Truman State when it was a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.

For a time Sunday, it appeared that the Miners were going to fall short as they were held to one hit over the first six innings by Adam Stabosz.

Lewis then grabbed the lead in the bottom half of that inning when Mike Smith drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and Ryan Duran followed with a two-out double to give the Flyers a 2-0 lead.

Stabosz was removed from the game after giving up a two-out walk to Cody Bass in the seventh, then Owen Madison greeted Duran with a double. A bobbled ball by centerfielder Ryan McManaman on the play allowed Bass to score all the way from first.

After UMR starter Stephen Read pitched around a leadoff single in the seventh to keep it as a one-run game, the Miners got the lead for him in the eighth.

Gerad Fox reached base with a bunt single, then was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Brandon Cogan. With first base open, McCormick slammed a home run to right center to give the Miners their first lead of the day.

The Miners then got some clutch relief pitching from Matt Campbell and Brian Rickert to close out the victory. Campbell pitched out of a two-on, one-out jam in the eighth by striking out Duran and Tim Bingham, then Rickert hit a batter with one out, but got assistance from battery mate Yaimel Javier-Cury as he threw out Joe Carbone trying to steal second. Rickert followed up the caught stealing by getting pinch-hitter Bryan Druktenis on a called third strike to end the game.

UMR had only four hits in the contest, the fourth being a fourth inning single off the bat of Nick Zurweller. Read picked up his fourth win with his seven innings of work, while Rickert got his first save in nearly a month.

The Miner baseball team came away with its first sweep in a GLVC double-header this season as it won both ends of Saturday's twinbill at Lewis University, taking the first game 1-0 on Brandon Cogan's five-hit shutout and the nightcap by a 12-6 score.

Cogan scattered five hits in a complete game effort and struck out eight to improve to 2-1 on the season. Two of his eight strikeouts came in the bottom of the seventh as he was protecting the one-run lead and the Flyers had two runners on base with one out. Cogan got pinch-hitters John Benisek and Chris Brigham on strikes to close out the victory.

UMR got its only run in the fourth by taking advantage of a Flyer error. Colt Johnson reached on that error with one out and after being moved to second on a hit by Owen Madison, scored on Gerad Fox's two-out single.

The nightcap turned into a wild affair in the early innings as it was tied 6-6 after three innings. The Miners grabbed the early lead when Eaf Redden drove in Thomas McCormick with a hit, but the Flyers scored three in the bottom half of the frame off starter Tavish Hill.

UMR got a run in the second when Fox doubled in Joe Montgomery, then took the lead with a four-run third. Three straight hits to open the inning, the last by Cogan, tied the game, then the Miners took the lead moments later on an RBI single by Montgomery. A passed ball scored the third run of the inning and Josh Hanrahan drove in another with an infield single.

However, Lewis put up another three-spot in the bottom of the third to knock out the Miner starter. Andy Draper got UMR out of the third and the Miners took the lead for good when they came back to the plate.

After the first two runners reached base, Montgomery delivered a run scoring single with one out to give UMR a 7-6 lead. A passed ball allowed Redden to score, then Montgomery came home on a two-out single by Kris Hamilton.

UMR extended its lead with a run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Hamilton and two in the eighth that scored on an RBI hit by Hanrahan and a sacrifice fly by Fox.

The Miners banged out a season-high 17 hits in game two, with Cogan getting three and six others getting two apiece. Fox, Hamilton and Montgomery each had two hits and two runs batted in.

The Flyers were held to three hits over the final six innings by Draper, who got the victory, and Mark Phillips who pitched four innings of one-hit relief to earn a save.

The Miners (12-14 overall, 5-11 GLVC) will play a single game Tuesday, April 3, at Southern Indiana (1 p.m. start time) before opening a weekend series against Indianapolis Saturday, April 7, at the UMR Baseball Field.

PRINT a copy of this story!

top

Miner baseball salvages final game

By John Kean
UMR Sports Information

OWENSBORO, Ky. -- After dropping the first two games of the weekend series at Kentucky Wesleyan, the Miners won the final game by taking a 4-3 decision in 12 innings Sunday afternoon, March 25.

Brandon Cogan's single in the 12th scored Robbie Martin with the go-ahead run as the Miners overcame the Panthers' ninth inning rally that sent the contest into extra innings. Martin had doubled to open the inning, then moved to third on Owen Madison's sacrifice bunt. Cogan

followed that with the hit to score him.

Matt Campbell, who entered the game in the ninth, got the Panthers out in order in the bottom of the 12th to get the win in relief. He allowed just one hit in 3 2/3 innings of work, but was victimized by an error in the bottom of the ninth that allowed the tying run to score.

UMR scored twice in the opening inning when Nick Zurweller homered with two outs and Eaf Redden singled home Thomas McCormick, who tripled after Zurweller's home run.

Kentucky Wesleyan got a run back in the bottom of the first, but that was all it would get off of UMR starter Stephen Read through the first eight innings. Read scattered nine hits, but left seven Panthers on base while he was in the game.

The Miners added a run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Martin and that 3-1 lead held up until the ninth, when the Panthers started a rally with one out. An RBI double by Steven Lee cut the lead to one, then a two-out error allowed pinch-runner Tyler Chew to score the tying run.

Another error kept the inning alive before Campbell got Tim Wimsatt to ground a ball back to him to close the inning. Yaimel Javier-Cury had three hits for the Miners (9-12, 2-9 Great Lakes Valley Conference), while McCormick and Martin had two hits each.

The Miners dropped a pair of one-run contests to the Panthers Saturday, as KWC rallied in the ninth for a 6-5 win in game one followed by a 1-0 victory in a pitcher's dual in the second game.

UMR led for nearly the entire game in the opener, scoring twice in the first and fourth innings to take a 4-0 lead.

In the first, the Miners got a two-run double from McCormick to take the early lead, then got a successful squeeze bunt from Josh Hanrahan and an RBI double from Cody Bass to go up 4-0 through four innings.

The Panthers got single runs off starter Brandon Cogan in the fifth and sixth innings, then tied the game off reliever Brian Rickert in the seventh.

UMR regained the lead in the top of the ninth as Gerad Fox delivered a two-out single to score Zurweller, who walked to start the inning. However, KWC was able to rally against Andy Draper, who had retired the Panthers in order in the eighth. A bases loaded single by Matt Martin tied the game, then the Panthers won it on a hit by Wimsatt.

UMR had 11 hits in game one, with five different players getting two apiece.

The nightcap turned into a pitcher's dual between UMR's Tavish Hill and KWC's Dean Futrell, as Hill gave up just four hits in six innings of work but was outpitched by Futrell, who shut out the Miners on just two singles.

The only run of the game came via a sacrifice fly by Neil Holmes in the second inning. UMR didn't get its first hit until the fifth when Zurweller singled with one out; that inning provided the Miners their best scoring chance as they loaded the bases but couldn't get a run across.

The Miners were scheduled to host Southern Indiana in a GLVC double-header Wednesday, March 28, starting at noon at the UMR Baseball Field.

PRINT a copy of this story!

top

Seven unlucky number for UMR baseball

By John Kean
UMR Sports Information

ROLLA – Things could have been a whole lot better for the University of Missouri-Rolla baseball team Wednesday, March 14 if the Miners didn’t have to play the seventh inning.

Unfortunately for UMR, the seventh was the fateful inning in both games, as the Miners dropped both ends of a Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) double-header to Missouri-St. Louis at the UMR Baseball Field.

The Rivermen scored four runs in the top of the seventh to win the opener 6-2 then rallied from a seven-run deficit with a 10-run seventh frame in an 11-8 game two victory.

UMR falls to 8-7 overall and 1-4 in GLVC play. The Rivermen improve to 7-1 and 4-1.

In the first contest the Rivermen scored single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to take a 2-0 lead, but the Miners put together a rally to draw even in the bottom half of the sixth. Gerad Fox opened the inning with a double down the line and scored on a two-out hit by Eaf Redden to cut the lead in half. Moments later Nick Zurweller singled past short to tie the game.

Joe Montgomery followed with a hit but UMSL reliever Linds Prestia entered the game and got the Rivermen out of the jam.

The Rivermen got to UMR pitcher Brian Rickert in the seventh, taking the lead on Matt Ayers’ two-run triple and adding two more runs before the inning ended.

UMR had seven hits in the opener, with Fox and Montgomery getting two hits each.

Game two started out well for the Miners, as they scored in the opening inning and then knocked out UMSL starter Justin Laramie in the second when they scored four times.

Fox opened the Miner first by getting hit by a pitch, then stole second and reached third on a throwing error. With one out Zurweller hammered a double into the left field corner to give UMR the lead.

UMR loaded the bases to open the second then Josh Hanrahan singled home Cody Bass to extend the lead to 2-0. A wild pitch scored Brandon Cogan, which was followed by a two-run single by Redden that made it 5-0.

An RBI single by Fox in the third pushed the UMR lead to six before UMSL got on the board with an infield groundout in the fourth, but the Miners got single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to take an 8-1 lead into the seventh.

Cogan scored the seventh Miner run on a passed ball then an RBI triple by Bass in the sixth brought home Zurweller.

UMR starting pitcher Ben Sherman, who was making his first start of the season, held the Rivermen to four hits over the first six innings. However, the Miner bullpen was unable to hold onto the large advantage as UMSL sent 13 batters to the plate in the seventh.

The big blow in the inning was a bases-clearing double by Cole Williams off Rickert, who had entered the game after both Andrew Page and Andy Draper had failed to retire any of the first eight hitters of the inning. Williams’ hit gave UMSL a 10-8 lead.

The Rivermen got their 10 runs in the inning on just six hits, as three UMR errors and a pair of walks were part of the equation as well.

The Miners had 12 hits in game two. Kris Hamilton had three of the his while Fox, Zurweller and Redden had two hits each.

UMR is scheduled to host SIU-Edwardsville in a three-game GLVC series this weekend at the UMR Baseball Field, with a noon double-header scheduled for Saturday, March 17, and a single game on Sunday, March 18, at noon.

PRINT a copy of this story!

top

Miner baseball salvages final game of series

By John Kean
UMR Sports Information

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- After dropping its first two conference games of the season Saturday, the UMR baseball team salvaged the final game of its three-game series with Bellarmine by beating the Knights 7-1 Sunday afternoon, March 11.

After giving up a run on three hits in the opening inning, Stephen Read shut the door on the Knights over the next seven innings as he gave up just two hits and fanned three without a walk to improve his record to 3-0. Brian Rickert pitched the ninth to finish off the Miners' eighth win of the season in 13 games.

The Miners tied the game in the second on an RBI single by Cody Bass, then took the lead by scoring three times in the third. Gerad Fox led off the inning with a hit and stole second, then after being sacrificed to third scored on Robbie Martin's infield hit. The Miners then loaded the bases and added to the lead when a passed ball scored Martin. Nick Zurweller followed with an RBI single to make it 4-1.

UMR got two more runs in the fourth when Martin hit a sacrifice fly to score Fox and Joe Montgomery's ground out brought home Thomas McCormick.

The Miners got their final tally in the seventh when a throwing error allowed Zurweller, who had stolen third, to come home to score.

Read retired 10 straight hitters in one stretch and allowed only two hitters to reach base from the second through the seventh innings. One of the two reached an an error and was later caught stealing, while the other was erased on a double play.

UMR had 11 hits in the game, with Martin collecting two to go along with his two runs batted in. McCormick, Eaf Redden and Zurweller all had two hits as well.

The Miners' solid start to the 2007 season hit a bump in the road as they opened Great Lakes Valley Conference play Saturday, as Bellarmine swept a doubleheader from the Miners by scores of 2-0 and 3-2.

The Miners were shut out by Knights' starter Nate Nevin on four hits in the first game, then were unable to hang onto a one-run lead in the late innings of the nightcap as they fell to 7-5 overall and saw their seven-game winning streak come to a halt.

UMR got its first two runners on base in the second inning of game one but a pickoff scuttled that threat. UMR also had a runner picked off in the third after a two-out hit and had runners on base in three of the final four innings, but couldn't push across a run.

Bellarmine got its only runs in the third off starter Matt Campbell, which came on Adam Chester's two-run homer.

In the second game, UMR spotted the Knights a run in the fourth, then took the lead by scoring twice in the sixth inning. With two outs, Joe Montgomery drew a walk and Cody Bass singled; an error on the play allowed both runners to move up. Nick Zurweller followed with a two-run single to put UMR on top 2-1.

UMR starter Tavish Hill, who had held Bellarmine to four hits over the first six innings, ran into trouble in the seventh and the Knights were able to get the lead back. A one-out single by pinch-hitter Cameron Howell and a run-scoring double with two outs off the bat of Patrick Brady put the Knights back in front.

After going down in order in the eighth, UMR got the tying run on base in the ninth but could only get it as far as second. Zurweller had two of UMR's seven hits in game two.

The Miners (8-5, 1-2 GLVC) will open a five-game homestand Wednesday, March 14, with a noon doubleheader against Missouri-St. Louis.

PRINT a copy of this story!

top

UMR baseball ups winning streak to 7

By John Kean
UMR Sports Information

ROLLA – The University of Missouri-Rolla baseball team saw its winning streak reach seven games Tuesday afternoon, March 6, as it swept a double-header from Lincoln University at the UMR Baseball Field.

UMR won the first game 4-1 and took the nightcap 7-2.

The two victories gave UMR a 7-3 overall record. UMR is slated to open GLVC play on Saturday, March 10, with a double-header against Bellarmine in Louisville, Ky. A win by the Miners in the opener would tie the school record for the longest winning streak in school history. UMR and Bellarmine will also play a single game on Sunday.

Lincoln falls to 2-16.

The Miners extended their streak with two more solid pitching performances. Matt Campbell gave up just three hits and one run over the first six innings of the opener before turning matters over to Brian Rickert for a perfect seventh inning to earn the save.

Stephen Read, this week’s Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Pitcher of the Week, overcame a two-run first inning to give the Miners five good innings in the nightcap before Andy Draper and Mark Phillips shut down the Blue Tigers in the final two frames.

Lincoln had the lead in both contests, taking a 1-0 edge in the third inning of game one. The Miners got the game tied in the bottom half of the fifth when Josh Hanrahan doubled home Nick Zurweller, then an error on a ball hit by Gerad Fox allowed Owen Madison to score moments later with the go-ahead run.

UMR tacked on two insurance runs in the sixth, one scoring on an RBI double by Eaf Redden and another on a hit by Cody Bass. Bass had two of the Miners’ five hits in the first game.

In game two Lincoln got a pair of runs off Read in the first, but UMR cut the lead in half in its turn at bat in the opening inning on Robbie Martin’s sacrifice fly.

The Miners took the lead with a three-run third, as Nick Zurweller tied the game with an RBI single and scored the go-ahead run as the result of an error. Mark Phillips drove in the third run of the inning with a hit that scored Bass.

UMR also got two runs in the fourth, one an unearned tally, and another in the fifth to close the scoring. Zurweller drove in his second run of the game in the fourth and Yaimel Javier-Cury had an RBI in the fifth.

The Miners had eight hits in the second game, with Fox and Zurweller getting two apiece. UMR also stole seven bases in the second game.

PRINT a copy of this story!

top

Miner baseball winning streak at 5

By John Kean
UMR Sports Information

ROLLA – The University of Missouri-Rolla baseball team extended its winning streak to five games Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 28 by sweeping a doubleheader from Maryville University

by scores of 4-3 and 5-1 at the UMR Baseball Field.

UMR completed the sweep Wednesday with a five-run first inning and a strong pitching performance from Stephen Read, as he threw a complete game with six hits allowed and 10 strikeouts.

Read got all the runs he needed right from the start, as the Miners batted around in the opening inning and knocked out Maryville starter Derek Strauser.

Robbie Martin’s sacrifice fly got the Miners on the board, then a bases loaded walk to Cody Bass made it 2-0. Kris Hamilton greeted Saint reliever David Wiggins with a run-scoring hit and a second run scored on the play thanks to an error. The Miners got their fifth run on a passed ball.

Read allowed only three hits through the first six innings and was one out away from a shutout when Bo Bunton’s two-out single drove in the only run for Maryville.

In the opener, the Miners fell behind 3-0 as the Saints tallied two runs in the first and a run in the second off starter Ben Sherman. UMR got two of the runs back in the bottom half of the second, as a bases loaded walk to Gerad Fox brought home the initial run and a sacrifice fly by Thomas McCormick made it a one-run game.

The Miners then tied the contest in the third when Bass singled home Eaf Redden, who had doubled with one out.

UMR reliever Andy Draper held the Saints off the scoreboard over the next three innings, in which time the Miners got the go-ahead run across the plate.

A leadoff walk to McCormick and a hit by Martin started the fifth for the Miners, but a failed sacrifice bunt led to a force out at third. Joe Montgomery followed up with a run-scoring hit to drive home Martin with the Miners’ fourth run.

Draper pitched around a two-out hit in the sixth, then Brian Rickert preserved the win for him by getting the Saints out after allowing a leadoff single.

The Miners had seven hits in the first game and five in game two.

For the second week in succession a pitcher from UMR has been honored by the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC).

Read, a senior right-hander from Putnam, Ill., earned the award this week for his performance in last week’s nightcap against Maryville. Read has a 1.50 earned run average over his 12 innings of work this season.

Last week the GLVC named the Miners’ Tavish Hill Pitcher of the Week.

PRINT a copy of this story!

top