UMSL to Host Tournament

St. Louis, Mo. – The Missouri-St. Louis baseball team had a perfect weekend, going 3-0 in three games during the UMSL Baseball Tournament.

In the first game, UMSL used a last inning rally to get by Missouri-Rolla 5-4. The Miners got on the board first with two runs in the second inning. The Rivermen took the lead in the fourth, scoring three runs. Tom Anderson (Bridgeton, Mo./Hazelwood West) had a two-run double, and scored on a base hit by Scott Lavelock (Pleasant Hill, Mo./Pleasant Hill). Missouri-Rolla retook the lead in the seventh, scoring two runs to take a 4-3 lead that held up going into the bottom of the ninth. In that ninth, UMSL scored twice, getting an RBI single from Josh Morgan (St. Louis, Mo./St. Mary's) that tied the game at 4-4. With two outs, Colby Hughes (Walnut Shade, Mo./Branson) brought home the game-winning run with a bases loaded single for the 5-4 win.

The biggest win of the weekend for UMSL came on Saturday when the Rivermen defeated Grand Valley State 12-7. The Lakers won the North Central Regional last year and advanced to the College World Series, but stumbled against a hot hitting UMSL team. The Rivermen struck early and often, getting four runs in the first inning and five in the second. Matt Rose (St. Charles, Mo./Francis Howell North) and Colby Hughes had RBI singles and Tom Anderson added and RBI double in the first. Hughes added another RBI single in the second and Derek Becker (Prunedale, Calif./North Salinas) had a two-run double in the second inning. After Grand Valley State scored one run in the top of the fourth, UMSL came back with four more runs in the bottom half of the inning. Josh Morgan blasted a two-run homer in the inning to highlight the scoring. The Lakers added some runs in the final two innings, but UMSL held on for the 12-7 win. Mike Lantzy (St. Louis, Mo./Parkway North) picked up the win, going 6.0 innings and gave up seven runs, five earned, on nine hits.

The weekend closed out with a 9-3 win over Hillsdale on Sunday. UMSL got one run in the second before Hillsdale took the lead with two runs in the top of the third. The Rivermen bats got hot in the fourth with five runs. Josh Thomas (Pevely, Mo./Herculaneum) had an RBI single and Matt Rose had a two-run single in that inning. Both teams added single runs in the fifth and UMSL added two more in the sixth on a two-run single by Scott Lavelock for the 9-3 win. Steven McCoy (Potosi, Mo./Potosi) picked up the win, going 6.0 innings and gave up three runs, only one earned, on seven hits and struck out four.

UMSL evens its record at 3-3 on the season as the Rivermen will head to Florida this weekend.