Bolivar, Mo. – The University of Missouri-St. Louis offense scattered 11 hits while the Tritons pitching staff struck out 12 batters en route to an 8-6 victory over Southwest Baptist Sunday afternoon at Dodson Field in Bolivar, Mo.
How it Happened – After a scoreless first inning, the Tritons cracked the scoreboard in the top of the second as
Carson Holin drew a one-out walk and moved to second after another free pass. Holin came around to score on a throwing error to put UMSL on top 1-0.
The Tritons added to the lead in the third as
Brandon Olion opened the frame with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt.
Kameron Laskowski brought Olion home with a single up the middle to stake UMSL to a 2-0 advantage. The Bearcats cut the lead in half in the bottom of the third with an RBI single to make the score 2-1.
UMSL took advantage of three walks in the fourth frame as
Leighton Keller drew a bases-loaded walk and
Mitchell Green hit into a fielder's choice to push across another run to give the Tritons a 4-1 lead. Southwest Baptist answered with a two-run homer and a solo blast over the next two innings to draw even with UMSL at 4-4.
The Tritons regained the lead in the top of the sixth as Olion ripped a two-run double to left field and then scored on a Keller RBI single up the middle to put UMSL on top 7-4.
The Bearcats battled back with a pair of runs in the seventh to cut the UMSL advantage to 7-6, but the Tritons added an insurance run in the ninth as Stephens smacked an RBI single to left field to give UMSL an 8-6 lead.
Trent Anderson entered the game in the eighth and earned his second save of the season with two innings of one-hit ball with three strikeouts.
Jack Rhodes earned his second win of the season with five strong innings on the hill with eight strikeouts.
Winning Pitcher: Rhodes (2-1)
Losing Pitcher: Khalil Torres (0-4)
Save: Anderson (2)
Hitting Leaders:
Laskowski – 3-for-5, RBI, run scored
Olion – 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 runs scored
Records:
UMSL: 5-17, 4-4 GLVC
Southwest Baptist: 6-23, 1-7 GLVC
Up Next:
The Tritons travel to Lebanon, Ill., Friday afternoon to open a four-game series with McKendree. The first pitch is slated for 2 p.m.
