KIRKSVILLE, MO. – The University of Missouri-St. Louis baseball team was swept by Truman State on Saturday as the two teams opened a four-game Great Lakes Valley Conference series. The Bulldogs won 21-8 and 9-7.
 
Senior Cooper Vinz led the Tritons with five hits and three RBI, while fellow senior Jacob Monti also had a five-hit day.
 
The teams will close out the series with another doubleheader tomorrow.
 
Records: UMSL (16-22, 7-11 GLVC), Truman State (11-27, 5-13 GLVC)
 
Game 1: Truman State 21, UMSL 8
Monti went 3-for-4 at the plate with a double and a home run, finishing with three RBI, as the Tritons tallied 14 hits – their second-most in a GLVC game this season.
 
However, Truman State recorded 18 hits and took advantage of 15 walks and four hit-by-pitches.
 
The Tritons took a 3-1 lead in the top of the second, scoring on a passed ball, an RBI groundout from senior Jake Morsch and an RBI single by Vinz, but the Bulldogs then followed with 20 unanswered runs.
 
Monti snapped a five-inning scoreless streak in the eighth with a solo homer and drove in the final two runs with a double in a four-run ninth. Redshirt freshman Keaton King and redshirt junior Brian Seymour also drove in a run in that frame.
 
Game 2: Truman State 9, UMSL 7
Vinz was 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. His two-run triple in the third inning got UMSL on the board, while junior Tom DeCero also drove in a run in that inning to bring the Tritons within 5-3.
 
DeCero finished with two hits and two RBI, driving in a run in the sixth inning that made it 9-7. That capped a four-hit, three-run frame that also featured a two-run homer from redshirt sophomore Derrick Freeman.
 
UMSL out-hit Truman 13-12 with five different players recording at least two hits. Morsch had two hits and also reached on a pair of walks and scored two runs.