Cody Bass

Relegated the role of spoiler, the Miner baseball team did its part Sunday to try to keep Quincy from being one of the six entries into the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament by taking the final game of the weekend series 8-7 at the UMR Baseball Field.

UMR had to come from behind on three different occasions, but took the lead for good with a two-run sixth inning and held on to win in its 18th one-run contest of the season.

Quincy scored in its initial at-bat of the day when Joe Palumbo doubled home Nathan Warner. The Miners got that run back in the bottom half of the first as Thomas McCormick singled with two outs, advanced to second on a walk to Eaf Redden and scored from second on Brandon Cogan's infield single behind the second base bag.

The Hawks took the lead back in the fourth when Jose Mendez singled home a pair of runs to give QU a 3-1 lead.

UMR broke loose, however, for four runs in the fifth to take the lead for the first time in the contest.

With one out, Gerad Fox was hit by a pitch and stole second, then scored on a hit up the middle by Cody Bass. After walks to McCormick and Redden loaded the bases -- and knocked out starter Bryce Crowley, a native of nearby Newburg who got the starting assignment Sunday for the Hawks -- Cogan reached base on a fielder's choice to allow Fox to score.

The Miners took the lead moments later after Cogan stole second when Robbie Martin floated a double down the left field line to score McCormick and Cogan.

Quincy regained the lead in the sixth as Mendez tripled in a pair of runs and scored himself on a squeeze bunt by Jake Schaake. But UMR bounced right back in the bottom of the sixth and got the lead back for good.

Yaimel Javier-Cury's leadoff single got the inning started and he scored on a two-out single by Bass off Nick Dunning. After Bass stole second, McCormick delivered a double out of the reach of Palumbo in right to put the Miners up 7-6.

UMR got an insurance tally in the seventh when a throwing error as the Hawks were trying to turn a double play was errant, allowing Cogan to come home to score.

Matt Nichols led off the top of the eighth with a home run off Ben Sherman, but relievers Andy Draper and Matt Campbell took care of getting the final six outs to secure the win. Draper entered the game in the eighth with a runner on first and no outs, but got a fly out before Scott Hauber was caught stealing for the second out. Draper then fanned Andrew Siemer to get out of the eighth.

Campbell pitched a perfect ninth to earn his second save and hold the victory for Sherman in relief.

UMR had 12 hits in the game with six different players getting two hits apiece. Bass, Cogan and Martin all drove in two runs to go along with their two hits.

The Miners (17-26, 10-23 GLVC), who ended a seven-game losing streak with the victory, will host Rockhurst -- another team vying for a playoff spot -- in a doubleheader Tuesday at 1 p.m. at the UMR Baseball Field. The first game will be a conference game while the second contest will be a seven-inning, non-conference affair.