ST. LOUIS – The University of Missouri-St. Louis baseball team pounded out 33 hits and scored 37 runs on Friday to win the final two games of its series against Upper Iowa and take three of four on the weekend. The Tritons improve to 25-20, 14-14 GLVC while the Peacocks fall to 17-24, 12-16 GLVC.
UMSL finished the doubleheader hitting eight home runs and finished with 12 in the series while
Andrew Buescher set the UMSL career home run record hitting his 25th in the sixth inning of game two.
Game 1 – UMSL 16 Upper Iowa 5
The Tritons jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning of the opener on
Noah Tomaras's solo home run to left. UMSL added to its lead on an RBI double from
Mitch Bonczkowski in the third.
The Tritons broke it open in the fourth scoring 10 runs on five hits.
Barrett Rose and
Cade Grevengoed hit back-to-back home runs to start the inning.
Braedon Stoakes hit a two-run home run and Tomaras capped the inning hitting a grand slam to make it 12-0.
UMSL added two more in the fifth on
Owen Polly's single up the middle that scored Stoakes and
Cooper Blythe.
Upper Iowa scored five runs on three hits in the sixth but it wouldn't be enough as the Tritons added two more in the sixth on
Dane Stevenson's two-run home run.
UMSL had 13 hits in the opener and was led by Stoakes with three while Bonczkowski and Tomaras had two each.
Bryce Nicolay went the first five innings giving up no runs on seven hits while striking out three to improve to 3-1.
Game 2 – UMSL 21 Upper Iowa 2 (Seven Innings)
The nightcap was all Tritons as they raced out to a 7-0 lead after the first inning. Bonczkowski drove in the first two runs with a double to right center and Buescher followed with an RBI single to right. Bonczkowski scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-0. Rose followed with a two-run home run to right and Stevenson scored on Blythe's RBI single.
UMSL added two more in the second on an RBI double from Buescher and a sacrifice fly from Blythe. The Tritons broke it open with three more in the third.
The Peacocks got on the board on a two-run home run from Bryce Hall in the fourth.
Rose it a three-run home run in the fifth to make it 15-2 and UMSL put it away with a six-run sixth inning.
The 21 runs in game two were a season-high for the Tritons as were there 20 hits and 20 RBI.
Stoakes, Bonczkowski, Buescher and Stevenson had three hits apiece while Rose and
Garrett Strenger had two hits each.
Zach Haygood went the distance giving up two runs on four hits with six strikeouts to improve to 3-1 on the season.
The Tritons take a break from league play taking on Division I Lindenwood University on Tuesday (April 22) at 5 p.m. at the Lou Brock Sports Complex in St. Charles, Mo.
