With the University of Missouri-St. Louis baseball team’s home opener postponed on Feb. 16 due to snow, the Tritons hit the road. The team began a 12-game road trip, with each game against non-conference schools.
The first stop on the trip was in Monticello, Ark., to play a three-game series against the University of Arkansas-Monticello (UAM).
The first game of the series would require extra innings to decide. The Tritons were trailing entering the ninth inning, 5-3, before rallying to tie the game at 5-5. But the Cotton Blossoms would get the win in the bottom of the 11th, with the bases loaded and no outs, when Triton pitcher Zach Sturdefant, junior, business management, hit Blaine Ivery of UAM to bring in the winning run, 6-5.
The next day, the Tritons played a doubleheader against the Cotton Blossoms. The Tritons lost the first game 14-7. The Tritons scored three runs in the top of the seventh to make the score 8-6, but UAM scored six more runs to seal the game in their favor.
In the third game of the series, UAM gave the start to Kevin Lienard. The Triton bats jumped on Lienard early, scoring three runs in the first three innings, and forcing the Cotton Blossom to go to their pen at the top of the third.
UAM substituted six additional pitchers before the game was over, but the Tritons went on to win 8-1. Kenny Ford, senior, elementary education, got the start for the Tritons and earned the win, pitching five scoreless innings while allowing only one hit.
This past week, the Tritons were in Savannah, Ga., to take on Armstrong Atlantic, which entered the game with an 8-2 record.
Entering the top of the seventh inning with the Tritons trailing 5-4, Kurt Driemeyer, junior, business management, hit a solo home run, the first for the team this season. Eight more batters for the Tritons would get an at-bat in the seventh inning, tacking on three additional runs leading to an 8-5 win.
On Saturday, UM-St. Louis played a doubleheader against Queens-NY, which had not played a game yet this season. Unfortunately for the Tritons, Queens-NY was really jacked up and won both games, 7-6 and 4-2.
On Sunday, UM-St. Louis took on Armstrong-Atlantic again. It would be a pitcher’s duel with the game scoreless going into the bottom of the sixth. Kenny Bechaud, junior, criminal justice, started for the Tritons, and pitched five scoreless innings, gave up two hits, struck out five and walked just three. Armstrong-Atlantic put up the first two runs in the bottom of the sixth. They held that lead until the top of the eighth when the Tritons scored three runs to go ahead.
Michael Hoosen, senior, business management, scored the first run for UM-St. Louis with a sacrifice fly. Armstrong would commit two errors in the inning, which the Tritons used to their advantage to get two more runs in taking the lead 3-2, despite only having one hit in the inning.
But the Triton lead was short-lived, as Armstrong scored twice in the bottom of the eighth to regain the lead. UM-St. Louis tied the game in the ninth as Erik Walk, senior, liberal studies, blasted a solo home run for the Tritons to make the score 4-4. Unfortunately, the Triton pitching was unable to hold the tie in spite of having two outs with one runner on first and would lose 5-4.
With the loss, the Tritons are 2-5 on the season, but still have around 48 games left to play. Their re-scheduled home opener will be Wednesday, March 10, against Missouri Western at the UMSL Baseball Field on South Campus. First pitch that day will be at 2 p.m.
