UMSL Splits with League Leading Rangers

Josh Morgan Pitches Complete Game Two-Hitter in Victory

Rensselaer, Ind. – The UMSL baseball team split a doubleheader at Saint Joseph’s on Sunday afternoon, the final regular season matchup before the Rivermen get ready for the GLVC Tournament this coming weekend at GMC Stadium in Sauget, Ill. UMSL won the first game 5-3 to the Pumas before falling in the second game 2-1.

In the opener, UMSL gave up a single run to the Pumas in the second inning, and two more in the fourth to fall behind 3-0. The Rivermen offense then exploded in the fifth, scoring five times in the inning. Doug Wiles (Farmington, Mo./Farmington) started the scoring with an RBI single to score Josh Morgan (St. Louis, Mo./St. Mary’s) who opened the inning with a leadoff double. Pat McNichols (St. Louis, Mo./Parkway South) brought home the second run with a sacrifice fly with bases loaded. With two outs in the inning and bases loaded, Jonathan Mercer (Sullivan, Mo./Sullivan) then came through with a bases loaded, three-run triple that put UMSL in the lead. Brad Drewes (St. Louis, Mo.) picked up the win to improve to 7-2 on the season, and Steven McCoy (Potosi, Mo./Potosi) pitched the final two innings for his first save of the year.

The UMSL offense was then shut down in the second game, managing just one run on seven hits in the 2-1 loss. Scott Davis (High Ridge, Mo./Northwest) got a one-out single in the second inning and moved to third on a double by Doug Wiles. Pat McNichols then brought Davis home for the first run of the game with a sacrifice fly for a 1-0 UMSL lead. Saint Joseph’s tied the game in the fourth with a two-out, RBI single off UMSL started Josh Morgan to make it 1-1. The Pumas then got a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning off reliever Mike Lantzy (St. Louis, Mo./Parkway North) to take a 2-1 lead and Saint Joseph’s held on from there for the win.

UMSL is now 28-21-1 overall on the season, and is 23-13 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The Rivermen split on Sunday, coupled with a Northern Kentucky sweep of Southern Indiana bumps Missouri-St. Louis to third place in the GLVC standings and a third seed in the upcoming GLVC Tournament this weekend. The GLVC Tournament will begin on Thursday, May 6, at GMC Stadium, home of the Gateway Grizzlies, in Sauget, Ill.