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May 29, 2008

S&T's Wieberg named to Academic All-America squad

Kandi Wieberg 2.jpg
Kandi Wieberg

Kandi Wieberg, who established numerous records during her four-season playing career at Missouri S&T, has been selected to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America second team for the recently completed 2008 season.

Wieberg, a civil engineering major at S&T who was named to the 2007 academic team as well, finished the year with a .320 batting average, 10 home runs and 17 runs batted in from the leadoff spot in the lineup. She also had a .440 on-base percentage and .567 slugging percentage to go along with a team-high 16 stolen bases; her 32 walks set a new S&T single-season record and she is ranked among the national leaders in walks per game.

She completed her four-year career with the Lady Miners as the holder or co-holder of 13 records at Missouri S&T. She stands atop the all-time lists for doubles with 49, home runs with 34, runs scored with 169 and runs batted in with 105 and her 223 hits are second on the all-time list at S&T.

Wieberg was an All-America selection on the field as a junior as she was named to both the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and Daktronics All-America squads in a season where she was selected as the "Player of the Year" in the Great Lakes Valley Conference and as the "Student-Athlete of the Year" for softball in the GLVC. She is a two-time selection to the All-GLVC first team and all-region squads at second base.

May 24, 2008

Miner pole vaulters land All-America honors

WALNUT, Calif. -- Both Missouri S&T entries in the men's pole vault competition earned All-America honors Saturday at the NCAA Division II Track & FIeld Championships at Mount San Antonio College.

Jordan Henry, who was the national runner-up during the indoor season, added a fourth place finish in the event for the outdoor season with a clearance of 16-4 in the finals of the event, while sophomore Peter Hollenbeck ended up in a tie for sixth place by clearing 16-feet.

The finishes among the top eight by Henry and Hollenbeck landed each of them All-America awards from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Henry cleared the opening height of 16-feet on his second try, then went over at 16-4 on his first effort. However, he was unable to make the clearance at 16-8 as one of the four competitors remaining in the competition at that time.

Hollenbeck also cleared the opening height on his second attempt, but missed all three tries at 16-4, which was just a shade over his personal best mark of 16-3 1/2 that got him into the national meet. The 16-foot clearance landed Hollenbeck in a four-way tie for sixth place.

Grand Valley State's Bryant Wilson took the national championship in the event by clearing 17-feet with fewer misses than Ashand's Dan Tierney, who also hit the 17-foot mark but had four misses to Wilson's three in the competition.

McCaskill finishes 11th in NCAA high jump competition

WALNUT, Calif. -- Tamara McCaskill finished in a tie for 11th place Saturday night in the women's high jump competition at the NCAA Division II Track & Field Championships at Mount San Antonio College.

McCaskill cleared 5-5 to end up tied for the 11th spot with a quartet of competitiors. She made her first two jumps of the night at 5-3 and 5-5, but was unable to clear the bar at 5-7.

She finished tied with UC San DIego's Linda Rainwater, Grand Valley State's Maegen Doyen, Ashland's Abby Kacsandi and Abilene Christian's Jessica Withrow.

Lincoln's Notoya Thompson took the national title in the event with a clearance of 5-9 1/4. She was one of three competitors to make the winning height, but had fewer misses in the event than the other two.

Pair of S&T swimmers named to academic all-district team

Two members of the Missouri S&T swimming team have been named to the ESPN The Magazine academic all-district team for the 2007-08 season as first team selections, making both eligible for Academic All-America honors for their performance both on the field and in the classroom.

Seniors David Calcara and Mark Chamberlain were both selected to the at-large squad, which encompasses all sports that do not have a team of its own. Both earned All-America honors in the pool during the season to help the Miners finish as the national runner-up at the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships.

Chamberlain, who is from Lake Jackson, Texas, posted individual times of 21.00 in the 50-yard freestyle, 47.10 in the 100-free, 50.88 in the 100-butterfly and was part of four relays teams that had seasonal bests during the 2008 season. At this year's national meet, he earned four All-America awards to give him 15 for his career

An applied mathematics major who has been named to three all-academic teams by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America and New South Intercollegiate Swimming Conference, Chamberlain earned his four All-America awards as part of relay teams in the 200- and 400-medley relays as well as the 200- and 400-yard freestyle.

Calcara, who is majoring in biological sciences, recorded times of 57.14 seconds in the 100-yard breaststroke and 2:03.04 in the 200-breaststroke to earn All-America honors in those events at the 2008 NCAA meet. He was seventh in the 200-breaststroke after taking 12th in the 100-breaststroke.

A native of Olympia, Wash., Calcara earned two All-America awards in his junior year and has also earned all-academic honors from the NSISC.

May 22, 2008

Three sign to play basketball for Lady Miners in 2008-09

-Missouri S&T women's basketball coach Alan Eads has announced the signing of three additional players for the 2008-09 season, giving the Lady Miners a total of six players who have signed National Letters of Intent to play at S&T next year.

The latest signees are Jazmine Bell, a guard from Cincinnati State Technical College; Jaysa Blackwell, a guard from Doniphan, Mo.; and Kylee Grant, a guard from Illinois Central College. They join early signees Jenny Dorman, Courtney Kemp and Brittany Percival as the newcomers to the Lady Miner roster next season; S&T is also expected to have the services of Julie Meyer, who signed with the volleyball team, at the conclusion of that season.

JAZMINE BELL, a 5-7 guard from Euclid High School in Euclid, Ohio: Bell is transferring to Missouri S&T from Cincinnati State, where she averaged 12.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.3 steals per game last season. She shot just over 40 percent from the field and 72 percent at the free throw line for the Lady Surge as they finished with a record of 22-9. She was a second-team all-conference player in the 2007-08 season and earned the league’s “Player of the Week” award during the course of the season. She averaged 13.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.4 steals a game in her freshman season.

In high school, Bell was named as her team’s most valuable player in her senior year and played all four seasons at the varsity level, earning the team’s top freshman honor along the way.

"Jazmine is a combination guard that we're looking at as a point guard," Eads said. "She is very quick and athletic and has proven that she can score based on her numbers at the junior college level. Jazmine played against some very good competition in junior college and that should help her make the adjustment to playing here at Missouri S&T."

JAYSA BLACKWELL, a 5-4 guard from Doniphan High School in Doniphan, Mo.: Blackwell earned all-district and all-conference honors following the 2007-08 season after averaging 10.1 points a game, while dishing out 93 assists and making 35 steals. She also earned all-region laurels and was named to the all-tournament team at the Lady Royal Classic while playing for her father, Jimbo.

In addition, Blackwell has also played on the Missouri Rockets club team that won the MAYB national championship in 2008. A teammate on that squad was Meyer, who will join the Lady Miner team after the volleyball season.

"Jaysa is a true point guard who is probably the closest thing to a Jaime Forsberg prototype," Eads said. "She is very quick and handles the ball extremely well and is also a fierce competitor having played for her father in high school for four years. Jaysa knows the game and has been coached very well."

KYLEE GRANT, a 5-4 yard from Richwoods High School in Peoria, Ill.: Grant is transferring into the Missouri S&T program from Illinois Central College, where she was a first-team all-region player and most valuable player in the Region 24 Tournament that her team won. On the season, she averaged 9.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 31 percent from three-point range and 75 percent at the free throw line for a team that was 23-9.

As a freshman, Grant averaged 6.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game while shooting 32 percent from behind the arc and 75 percent at the line. In high school, she was an honorable mention all-state selection and first-team all-conference pick as a senior a year after helping lead her team to an undefeated record and state championship; she earned second-team all-conference honors that year as well as in her sophomore season.

"Kylee is another player with a great basketball background," Eads said. "She was a true point guard at the junior college level and is a great passer -- possibly one of the best that we've had here in a while. She is a solid fundamental player who can also shoot the ball from long range and like Jazmine, has gained valuable experience playing in a very competitive junior college league."

Missouri S&T finished the 2007-08 season with a record of 24-7 and reached the championship game of the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, where it lost to eventual national champion Northern Kentucky.

May 21, 2008

Track teams sign five to national letters of intent

Missouri S&T has announced the signing of five individuals to national letters of intent to compete on the track and field teams in the 2008-09 academic year.

The men's team signed two individuals -- Eric Fairbairn from Deer Creek High School in Edmond, Okla., and Elijah Thomas from Webster Groves High School -- while the women's team also added a trio of newcomers in Paige Kruse from Cuba High School, Colleen Conrad from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio and Sadye Wichmunn from Kirksville High School.

Fairbairn, from Deer Creek High School in Edmond, Okla., competes in cross country and in the middle distance events, where he ran a time of 1:58.25 at this year's Oklahoma Class 5 State Championships in the 800-meters to take second place. During the cross country season, Fairbairn finished seventh at the Class 4 state meet, running a time of 16:59 in the state meet to help lead his team to the championship.

Thomas, from Webster Groves High School in Webster Groves, Mo., is a sprinter and jumper for the Statesmen, has posted a mark of 22-2 in the long jump this season after going 22-6 as a junior. As a junior, he placed seventh in the long jump at the Missouri Class 4 state meet. He also competed in the high jump and cleared six feet in the event during the 2007 season.

Conrad, from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio, has been a three-year state qualifier in Ohio, where she finished ninth in the state's Division II cross country meet as a senior with a time of 18:44 over five kilometers. She also holds her school's record in both the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs and has earned Academic All-Ohio honors in the 2007 season.

Kruse, from Cuba High School in Cuba, Mo., is an all-state performer in the high jump and 800-meters, with recent finishes of sixth in both events at the Missouri Class 2 state meet held over the past weekend in Jefferson City. Kruse had a time of 2:23.76 in the 800 and a clearance of 4-10 in the high jump at the state meet. She also competed in cross country and helped lead her team to a district championship in the 2007 season; she would later finish 30th at the state cross country meet.

Wichmann qualified for the Missouri Class 3 state meet in two events after placing second in the triple jump and fourth in the long jump at the sectional meet. She recorded a mark of 35-9 in the triple jump and 16-9 3/4 in the long jump to earn her spot in the state meet. Wichmunn also took third in the district meet in the triple jump and fourth in the long jump. She has been an all-district and all-conference performer in both events throughout her high school career.

The Miners signed three student-athletes earlier this year in Jason Barry from Osage Beach, Joe Skelton from Potosi and George Thomas from Marshfield to national letters of intent, while the Lady Miners had previously signed Kassie Osborne from Evansville, Ind., Central High School.

May 17, 2008

Musselman lands on Daktronics All-America softball squad

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Kelsey Musselman

For the second season in a row, a member of the Missouri S&T softball team has landed a spot on the Daktronics Inc., All-America softball team.

After Kandi Wieberg made the initial Daktronics squad last spring, third baseman Kelsey Musselman was named to this season's third team on the team released over the weekend.

Musselman, the "Player of the Year" in both the Great Lakes region and Great Lakes Valley Conference in the 2008 season, was named to the squad after a season in which she led the Lady Miners with a .422 batting average -- which was good for second in the GLVC behind the .430 mark posted by Wisconsin-Parkside's Amanda Miller -- while leading the league in slugging percentage, on-base percentage and home runs.

Musselman had a school record 14 home runs on the year and drove in 47 runs, while posting a .755 slugging percentage and .500 on-base percentage. Her performance netted her two GLVC "Player of the Week" awards during the year and eventually first-team All-GLVC honors.

She is currently 12th in NCAA Division II for home runs per game and also ranks 35th for runs batted in per contest.

Musselman was named to the all-region first team on both the Daktronics squad, voted on by the sports information directors in NCAA Division II, and on the coaches team which is sponsored by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.

Lincoln Memorial's Sara Henn was the first-team selection at third base, while Miranda Campbell from eventual national runner-up Emporia State was named to the second team.

The Lady Miners finished the 2008 season with a 26-21 record and were third in the GLVC with a 17-9 mark.

May 16, 2008

Miner baseball team tryout moved to June 21

The Missouri S&T baseball team will hold its annual open tryout on Saturday, June 21 at the S&T Baseball Field. The date was moved from its original date of June 7.

The tryout, which is for prospective players who have completed their senior year of high school play or two years at a junior college, will begin at noon at the Miners' home field. Those taking part in the tryout will need to bring proper equipment, including footwear, to the event and will also need to have proof of a physical taken within the last six months.

For more information, contact head coach Todd DeGraffenreid at (573) 341-7506 or at degraff@mst.edu.

May 14, 2008

S&T earns national award for diversity in athletics

Missouri S&T is one of six institutions in NCAA Division II that has been named as a recipient of the Diversity in Athletics Award in the category of gender equity compliance by the NCAA for the 2007-08 season.

The award will be presented to the university next month at the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics convention in Dallas.

The award Missouri S&T is receiving is based on the proportion of female student-athletes relative to the proportion of female undergraduates. Using data that is gathered from the U.S. Department of Education website, departments that are within one percent of equality received the highest scores.

S&T was joined on the gender equity compliance list by Florida Institute of Technology, Goldey Beacom College (Del.), Minnesota State University at Mankato, Saint Michael's College (Vt.) and Salem International University (W.Va.). It is the only Division II institution in the state of Missouri to receive an award in one of the seven categories and one of just two in the Great Lakes Valley Conference to do so.

The data used to determine the award winners was conducted by the Laboratory for Diversity in Sport at Texas A&M University in collaboration with the NCAA.

Miners add transfer from Saint Louis to fold for 2008-09

The efforts to bolster the Missouri S&T men's basketball roster continue with the addition of Adam Knollmeyer, a 6-9, 235-pound forward from Linn, Mo.

Knollmeyer is transferring to Missouri S&T from Saint Louis University where he has spent the last two seasons. He played in 22 games last seaason for the Billikens and shot 46 percent from the floor and 75 percent at the free throw line after appearing in 21 games as a freshman.

He is the second player to sign with the Miners for next season, joining Aaron Redeker, a transfer from Three Rivers Community College.

"I really believe that Adam is going to be a fine Division II player," said Miner head coach Dale Martin. "He will be asked to do a great deal more at our level in terms of scoring and rebounding, but I really believe he'll be able to make a difference for us.

"Adam, along with Aaron, will really help upgrade our front line next season in terms of production," Martin added. "He is a very good student as well and will be a good match for us both academically and athletically."

At Linn, Knollmeyer was a Street and Smith's honorable mention All-America player and averaged 18 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks and four assists per game to lead his team to a 26-4 record. He was a first-team Missouri Class 3 all-state player as named by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association and second-team selection by the Missouri Sportswriters and Broadcasters Association.

Knollmeyer played his first three prep seasons at Helias High School in Jefferson City.

May 13, 2008

Three from S&T earn berths to NCAA-II Track Championships

Three members of the Missouri S&T track and field teams have earned berths to the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships, which will begin May 22 in Walnut, Calif.

Two pole vaulters, Jordan Henry and Peter Hollenbeck, along with women's high jumper Tamara McCaskill landed the berths to the meet that will take place at Mount San Antonio College.

Henry, the national runner-up in the pole vault during the indoor season, earned an automatic berth during the outdoor season with his best mark of 17 feet that he posted over the weekend at Emporia State. Henry's mark is the fifth-best in the nation heading into the meet; the top mark is 17-1 1/2 held by Abilene Christian's Landon Ehlers.

Hollenbeck comes in with a clearance of 16-3 1/2 that is tied for the 16th-best in Division II. He posted the mark during the course of his second place finish at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships on May 3.

The pole vault competition will take place on Saturday, May 24 at 6:55 p.m. Central time. It will be Henry's fourth appearance at the national meet and Hollenbeck's second; he made last year's field during the outdoor championships.

McCaskill's best performance of the year also came at Alabama when she cleared 5-7 in the high jump. Her marks rank in a tie for 15th heading into the meet and she will compete at 7:45 p.m. Central on May 24. This will be McCaskill's first appearance at the national meet.

Track teams have 12 named to All-GLVC teams for outdoor season

The Missouri S&T track and field teams each had six individuals selected to the Great Lakes Valley Conference's all-league squad for the outdoor season for their performances during the GLVC Outdoor Championships earlier this month.

The five individuals who won conference championships at the GLVC meet were first team selections, with the men's team being represented by league champions Kal-El Waters-Jones, Joffroi Holcombe, Jordan Henry and Brandon Etzold and the women's team by Leah Morehead. In addition, Peter Hollenbeck was a first-team selection on the men's side after finishing second in the pole vault with a mark that exceeded the NCAA provisonal qualifying standard.

Waters-Jones won the triple jump, Holcombe won the 10,000-meters, Henry took the title in the pole vault and Brandon Etzold claimed the title in the 800-meters. Morehead led a sweep of the top three spots in the women's pole vault by taking the title in that event and was one of the recipients of the league's "Freshman of the Year" award; Etzold shared the men's top freshman honor.

Henry and Hollenbeck will represent the Miners at the NCAA Division II Championships next week in Walnut, Calif., while Tamara McCaskill, one of five Lady Miners named to the second team, will be the Lady Miners' lone competitor in California at the national meet in the high jump.

McCaskill was joined on the second team by pole vaulters Taylor Hahn and Jamie Statler, middle distance runner Kierra Handley and sprinter Katie Bruce.

May 10, 2008

Henry becomes first Miner to clear 17 feet in pole vault

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Jordan Henry

EMPORIA, Kan. -- Missouri S&T's Jordan Henry cleared a height Saturday that no other pole vaulter wearing a Miner uniform ever had -- the 17-foot mark.

Henry cleared that height at the Emporia State Twilight Qualifier, breaking his own school record in the event that he set just two weeks ago. His clearance of 17-feet is the highest ever by an S&T pole vaulter, as Henry also holds the indoor mark of 16-10 3/4 that he set at the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships in March.

The junior from St. Charles had already earned a berth to the outdoor nationals after going over the bar at 16-8 at Missouri Southern on April 25. A week ago, he won the Great Lakes Valley Conference championship in the event after winning the league's indoor title two months earlier.

Henry had the eighth-best pole vault mark during the outdoor season prior to Saturday, but his mark at ESU moved him up to possibly as high as fifth, depending on the results of other meets taking place Saturday. He was second in the competition to Kansas' Jordan Scott who cleared 17-7.

Jared Anders and Peter Hollenbeck tied for fourth in the pole vault with clearances of 15-4 1/4. Hollenbeck, who was second to Henry in the pole vault last week at SIUE, had the 15th-best pole vault mark in the country heading into the final weekend of competition while Anders was ranked 19th.

The lone women's competitor from S&T at the meet, Tamara McCaskill, cleared 5-5 1/4 to finish third in the high jump. She was ranked 14th nationally in the event heading into the meet.

The NCAA will release the list of qualifiers for the Division II Championships Tuesday. The national meet begins May 22 in Walnut, Calif.

Results from Emporia State

May 09, 2008

Four from S&T selected to academic all-district team

The Missouri S&T baseball and softball teams had representatives on the District VII Academic All-District team for the 2008 season, with each team getting a first-team selection that will move onto the national ballot for the opportunity to be named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America team.

Senior pitcher Matt Campbell, who has been one of the Miners' top pitchers for the past three seasons, was selected to the first team while Cody Bass, a junior shortstop from Chattanooga, Okla., was named as a second-teamer on the baseball squad.

On the academic all-district softball team, Kandi Wieberg was chosen to the first-team while third baseman Kelsey Musselman, named recently as the "Player of the Year" in both the Great Lakes Valley Conference and Great Lakes region, was chosen to the second team.

Campbell, who hails from St. Charles, Mo., was 3-4 this season with a 5.46 earned run average for the Miners, but finished his career at S&T among the all-time leaders in innings pitched, strikeouts, wins and earned run average. He finished second on the team this season in innings with 61 and recorded a complete game shutout against Rockhurst in late March.

Bass, who started in 42 games at the shortstop position, batted .285 with 16 runs batted in during the recently completed campaign. He scored 27 runs during the season and had a .364 on-base percentage. He is a two-year starter at shortstop for the Miners.

Wieberg, a senior from St. Elizabeth, Mo. who made the All-GLVC first team, finished the year with a .320 batting average, 10 home runs and 17 runs batted in from the leadoff spot in the lineup. She also had a .440 on-base percentage and .567 slugging percentage to go along with a team-high 16 stolen bases; her 32 walks set a new S&T single-season record and she is ranked among the national leaders in walks per game.

Wieberg had a record-setting career at Missouri S&T, finishing atop the all-time lists for doubles with 49, home runs with 34, runs scored with 169 and runs batted in with 105. Her 223 hits are second on the all-time list at S&T.

Musselman led the Lady Miners with a .422 batting average -- which was good for second in the GLVC behind the .430 mark posted by Wisconsin-Parkside's Amanda Miller -- while leading the league in slugging percentage, on-base percentage and home runs.

Musselman, a native of Springfield, Ill., had a school record 14 home runs on the year and drove in 47 runs, while posting a .755 slugging percentage and .500 on-base percentage. Her performance netted her two GLVC "Player of the Week" awards during the year and eventually first-team All-GLVC honors. She is currently 12th in NCAA Division II for home runs per game and also ranks 35th for runs batted in per contest.

May 08, 2008

McCormick named to All-GLVC first-team; Javier-Cury selected to third team

Thomas McCormick.jpg
Thomas McCormick

Thomas McCormick's strong finish to the 2008 season and Yaimel Javier-Cury's steady play throughout the year has earned each of them recognition from the Great Lakes Valley Conference on its all-league team for the recently completed season.

McCormick, who broke the Missouri S&T single-season record for runs batted in with 46, was named to the All-GLVC first team as an outfielder while Javier-Cury, the Miners' leading hitter on the year and a force behind the plate, was selected as the third team catcher.

McCormick, a junior from Kingwood, Texas, hit .331 on the season with four home runs and 46 RBI. He had a stretch in April where he drove in at least one run in 10 consecutive games -- during which time he was named as the GLVC's "Player of the Week" -- and in 17 of 18 games. His offensive run coincided with the Miners' late season bid for spot in the GLVC Tournament that went all the way to the final weekend.

In addition, McCormick posted a team-best .531 slugging percentage -- he had 12 doubled and a team-high four triples -- and a .405 on-base percentage.

Javier-Cury led S&T with a .342 batting average and had 52 hits on the season, second only to the 53 posted by McCormick. He had 11 doubles, a home run and 27 runs batted in on the year while also throwing out 13 runners trying to steal.

The senior from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, recorded a .434 slugging percentage and .390 on-base percentage on the season.

The Miners finished the year at 22-26 overall and 15-17 in the GLVC.

2008 All-GLVC Baseball First Team
C: Seth Paul, Indianapolis
1B: Jeff Dillman, Bellarmine
2B: Patrick Brady, Bellarmine
3B: Ben Bartley, SIU Edwardsville
SS: Matt Reimer, Saint Joseph's
UT: Josh Huebner, Southern Indiana
DH: Braxton Graven, Bellarmine
OF: Thomas McCormick, Missouri S&T
OF: Shane Noble, Bellarmine
OF: Jake Shaffer, Northern Kentucky
OF: Matt Wille, Saint Joseph's
SP: Brandon Braboy, Indianapolis
SP: Blaine Cravens, Saint Joseph's
SP: Jeremy Kehrt, Southern Indiana
SP: Ryan Schmidt, Northern Kentucky
RP: Shaun Larsen, Southern Indiana

All-GLVC third team selection from Missouri S&T: Yaimel Javier-Cury, C

Player of the Year: Patrick Brady, 2B, Bellarmine
Pitcher of the Year: Blaine Cravens, Saint Joseph's
Freshman of the Year: Chris Saroff, 3B/P, Indianapolis
Coach of the Year: Deron Spink, Bellarmine

Lady Miner trio lands on second all-region squad

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Kelsey Musselman

For the second time in as many days, three members of the Missouri S&T softball team have been selected to an all-region team for their performances during the recently completed 2008 season by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.

Third baseman Kelsey Musselman, named Wednesday as the "Player of the Year" on the Daktronics all-region team, was named to the NFCA all-Great Lakes region first team along with second baseman Kandi Wieberg and centerfielder Emily Tucker. Wieberg and Tucker were also first team picks on the Daktronics all-region squad.

During the 2008 campaign, Musselman led the Lady Miners with a .422 batting average -- which was good for second in the GLVC behind the .430 mark posted by Wisconsin-Parkside's Amanda Miller -- while leading the league in slugging percentage, on-base percentage and home runs.

Musselman had a school record 14 home runs on the year and drove in 47 runs, while posting a .755 slugging percentage and .500 on-base percentage. Her performance netted her two GLVC "Player of the Week" awards during the year and eventually first-team All-GLVC honors.

She is currently 12th in NCAA Division II for home runs per game and also ranks 35th for runs batted in per contest.

Wieberg finished the year with a .320 batting average, 10 home runs and 17 runs batted in from the leadoff spot in the lineup. She also had a .440 on-base percentage and .567 slugging percentage to go along with a team-high 16 stolen bases; her 32 walks set a new S&T single-season record and she is ranked among the national leaders in walks per game.

Wieberg had a record-setting career at Missouri S&T, finishing atop the all-time lists for doubles with 49, home runs with 34, runs scored with 169 and runs batted in with 105. Her 223 hits are second on the all-time list at S&T.

Tucker, a second-team all-region selection as a sophomore, moved to the first team as a junior after batting .409 with six home runs and 33 runs batted in. She led S&T with 14 doubles on the season and also drew 19 walks to post a .478 on-base percentage. Her .642 slugging percentage ranks fourth in the conference, while her batting average and on-base marks are third in the league.

Tucker struck out only 12 times in 137 at-bats on the season and had a league-best .440 average in conference games.

The Lady Miners finished the 2008 season with a 26-21 record and were third in the GLVC with a 17-9 mark.

2008 NFCA All-Great Lakes Region -- First team selections
C: Sarah Berry, Wayne State (Mich.)
1B: Kim Locke, Bellarmine
2B: Kandi Wieberg, Missouri S&T
SS: Kelly Dianis, Lewis
3B: Kelsey Musselman, Missouri S&T
OF: Emily Tucker, Missouri S&T

OF: Jessica Breeden, Indianapolis
OF: Kathy Wood, Southern Indiana
UT/P: Stacy Kraatz, Saginaw Valley State
UT/NP: Sadie Ball, Drury
DP: Sara Loete, Southern Indiana
P: Kaitlin Colosimo, SIU Edwardsville
P: Molly Yetman, Wayne State (Mich.)

May 07, 2008

Gronewold, Wieberg named as 2008 Bullman Award winners

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2007-08 M-Club Most Valuable Players
(Front from left) Ashlyn Balensiefer, Tamara McCaskill,
Bridget Williams, Kierra Handley, Taylor Hahn,
Kelsey Musselman. (Back from left) Ashton Gronewold,
Matt Hug, Joffroi Holcombe, Brandon Etzold, Jordan
Henry, Mike McNamee, Garyion Turner.

Two of the most celebrated student-athletes in the history of the Missouri S&T athletic program were named as the recipients of the 2008 Gale Bullman Awards Wednesday night at the M-Club Awards Banquet held at Havener Center.

Ashton Gronewold, a three-year All-America performer for the Miner football team and Kandi Wieberg, who like Gronewold was a record setting performer while playing for the softball team, were named as the top award winners at Wednesday's banquet.

Gronewold was named to three All-America squads following the 2007 season in which he wrapped up an impressive career with the Miners. He caught 87 passes for 1,009 yards and 13 touchdowns on the year while piling up a school record 2,250 all-purpose yards. The 2007 numbers put his career totals at 278 receptions, 3,708 yards and 53 touchdowns; he also had five return touchdowns for a total of 58 in a career where he set 22 school records.

In addition, Gronewold set a NCAA Division II record during the season when he compiled 295 yards in kickoff returns which included two runbacks for touchdowns to tie another national record at the Division II level.

His performance earned him a berth to the Valero Cactus Bowl -- where he caught a touchdown pass in the game -- and allowed him to be one of the six regional finalists for the 2007 Harlon Hill Award, the first Missouri S&T player to earn such an honor. Over the past weekend, Gronewold participated in a tryout camp with the Chicago Bears.

Wieberg was an All-America performer for the S&T softball team in the 2007 season, when she was named as the Great Lakes Valley Conference's "Player of the Year" and "Student-Athlete of the Year". She is a two-time selection to the All-GLVC and Great Lakes all-region first team at second base and finished her career as a Lady Miner as the holder of four career records.

She finished with the all-time marks in home runs, runs batted in, doubles and runs scored, while ranking second on the career list for hits. Wieberg was also named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America team following the 2007 season.

Two coaches who led their teams to unprecedented success this season shared the "Coach of the Year" award. Doug Grooms, who guided the Miner swimming team to a second place finish at the NCAA Division II Championships, and Alan Eads, who led the women's basketball team to the NCAA Great Lakes Regional championship game, were the selections as the top coaches.

The second place finish by the swimming team was the highest finish ever for a Miner athletic team at a national competition, while the Lady Miners' run to the Sweet 16 in the women's basketball tournament was the farthest that the team has ever gone in the NCAA Division II Tournament.

Diana Newman, a former softball player and 1984 graduate of the university, was the keynote speaker for the event and was named as the receipient of the M-Club's M-M Award. Matt Loula, a senior-to-be defensive end for the Miner football team, was named as the Robert Nicodemus Award winner for this year while the honorary M-Club Awards were given to Sarah Moore and Cecelia Elmore.

Moore is Missouri S&T's assistant director of athletics and senior women's administrator; she previously served as a coach in the athletics department, most recently in the track and field program. Elmore, a former softball and basketball player for the Lady Miners, is presently the director of the Women's Leadership Institute at Missouri S&T.

The most valuable player for each of the sports for the 2007-08 season were also honored. The winners of those are as follows:

Baseball: Yaimel Javier-Cury, Sr., Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Men's Basketball: Justin Taylor, So., Webster Groves, Mo.
Women's Basketball: Tamara McCaskill, Jr., Edwardsville, Ill.
Men's Cross Country: Joffroi Holcombe, Sr., Alexandria, La.
Women's Cross Country: Kierra Handley, So., St. Louis, Mo.
Football (Offense): Ashton Gronewold, Sr., Carthage, Ill.
Football (Defense): Garyion Turner, Sr., Phoenix, Ariz.
Men's Soccer: Mike McNamee, Sr., St. Louis, Mo.
Women's Soccer: Beth Babb, Sr., Benton, Ky.
Softball: Kelsey Musselman, Sr., Springfield, Ill.
Swimming: Matt Hug, Sr., Bloomington, Ill.
Men's Track & Field (Indoor): Jordan Henry, Jr., St. Charles, Mo.
Men's Track & Field (Outdoor): Brandon Etzold, Fr., Jackson, Mo.
Women's Track & Field (Indoor): Taylor Hahn, Jr., Salem, Ill.
Women's Track & Field (Outdoor): Kendra Lewis, Jr., Waynesville, Mo.
Volleyball: Ashlyn Balensiefer, Fr., Lafayette, Ind.; Bridget Williams, Fr., Topeka, Kan.

Three Lady Miners named all-region; Musselman selected as top player

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Kelsey Musselman

A week ago, Kelsey Musselman was named as the top player in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. This week, she can add the top player in the region to her resume.

Missouri S&T's senior third baseman was named today as the "Player of the Year" for the Great Lakes region on the Daktronics Inc., all-region team which was voted on by the region's sports information directors.

Musselman was one of three Lady Miners named to the first team, joining second baseman Kandi Wieberg and outfielder Emilly Tucker. Wieberg and Tucker were all-region selections last season on the inaugural team and Wieberg went on to be named first-team All-America.

During the recently completed 2008 season, Musselman led the Lady Miners with a .422 batting average -- which was good for second in the GLVC behind the .430 mark posted by Wisconsin-Parkside's Amanda Miller -- while leading the league in slugging percentage, on-base percentage and home runs.

Musselman had a school record 14 home runs on the year and drove in 47 runs, while posting a .755 slugging percentage and .500 on-base percentage. Her performance netted her two GLVC "Player of the Week" awards during the year and eventually first-team All-GLVC honors.

She is currently 12th in NCAA Division II for home runs per game and also ranks 35th for runs batted in per contest.

Wieberg finished the year with a .320 batting average, 10 home runs and 17 runs batted in from the leadoff spot in the lineup. She also had a .440 on-base percentage and .567 slugging percentage to go along with a team-high 16 stolen bases; her 32 walks set a new S&T single-season record and she is ranked among the national leaders in walks per game.

Wieberg had a record-setting career at Missouri S&T, finishing atop the all-time lists for doubles with 49, home runs with 34, runs scored with 169 and runs batted in with 105. Her 223 hits are second on the all-time list at S&T.

Tucker, a second-team all-region selection as a sophomore, moved to the first team as a junior after batting .409 with six home runs and 33 runs batted in. She led S&T with 14 doubles on the season and also drew 19 walks to post a .478 on-base percentage. Her .642 slugging percentage ranks fourth in the conference, while her batting average and on-base marks are third in the league.

Tucker struck out only 12 times in 137 at-bats on the season and had a league-best .440 average in conference games.

The Lady Miners finished the 2008 season with a 26-21 record and were third in the GLVC with a 17-9 mark.

2008 Daktronics Inc. All-Great Lakes Region -- First team selections
C: Mallory Paine, Sr., Lewis
1B: Kim Locke, Sr., Bellarmine
2B: Kandi Wieberg, Sr., Missouri S&T
SS: Kelly Dianis, Jr., Lewis
3B: Kelsey Musselman, Sr., Missouri S&T
OF: Emily Tucker, Jr., Missouri S&T

OF: Jessica Breeden, So., Indianapolis
OF: Jseelica McNurlen, Sr., Mercyhurst
UT: Kara Hensley, Jr., Gannon
DP: Sara Loete, So., Southern Indiana
P: Kaitlin Colosimo, Jr., SIU Edwardsville
P: Courtney Lyons, Jr., Lewis
P: Molly Yetman, Sr., Wayne State (Mich.)

Player of the Year: Kelsey Musselman, 3B, Sr., Missouri S&T
Pitcher of the Year: Kaitlin Colosimo, Jr., SIU Edwardsville

Miners land first signee in Three Rivers' Redeker

The Missouri S&T men's basketball team has announced its first signing for the 2008-09 season as Aaron Redeker, a 6-11, 220-pound center-forward from Jackson, Mo., has signed a National Letter of Intent to play at S&T.

Redeker has spent the last two seasons at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, Mo., where he played for legendary coach Gene Bess, and averaged 7.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game a year ago to help the Raiders finish with a record of 29-8. He also shot 50.5 percent from the field and 73.2 percent at the line while finishing as his team's third-leading rebounder.

Redeker was also a force on the defensive end, averaging over two blocked shots per game a year ago and accumulating 128 blocked shots in 74 games at Three Rivers.

"Aaron is a player who will add a lot to our team, particularly on the defensive end and in terms of competitiveness," Martin said. "He really likes to compete and I believe that can help us raise the level of our play on the floor.

"On the floor, he's a strong rebounder who really makes good decisions with the ball and will also be able to do some things for us offensively as he has been a good shooter on an outstanding junior college team at Three Rivers."

Redeker played his high school basketball at Jackson High School, where he was the team's top rebounder in his senior year. He plans to major in civil engineering at Missouri S&T.

May 04, 2008

Cougars end Miner baseball season on down note

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- Playing its sixth game in the last four days, the Miner pitching staff was unable to slow down Southern Illinois Edwardsville's bats Sunday afternoon as the Cougars ended Missouri S&T's season with a 20-8 win.

SIUE scored in six of the eight innings in batted in and scored multiple runs in five of them, banging out 23 hits against four Miner hurlers used in the game.

The Cougars, who entered the game still in contention for a GLVC playoff spot, jumped on Miner starter Caleb Smith for three runs in the first inning, but the Miners tied the score in the second. A leadoff double by Thomas McCormick got things started, then he scored on a one-out single by Eaf Redden. After an SIUE error, Brandon Cogan delivered a sacrifice fly and Owen Madison, who had the go-ahead hit in Saturday's win, tied the score with an RBI single.

SIUE put seven runs on the board in the third to go up 10-3, but the Miners were able to trim that lead down with three runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth.

In the fourth, Madison drove in the first run with an RBI single, then a hit by Andrew Vance and a sacrifice fly by Gerad Fox brought the margin down to four.

S&T drew even closer in the fifth when Cogan doublhed home Redden and Yaimel Javier-Cury, but the Cougars got a single run in the bottom half of the inning and then scored three runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings.

Cogan had two hits and three RBI to lead the Miner attack. S&T finished its season at 22-26 overall and 15-17 in the GLVC.

May 03, 2008

Hollenbeck hits provisional mark, Etzold one of top freshman in GLVC meet

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GLVC Freshmen of the Year
Leah Morehead & Brandon Etzold

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- The Missouri S&T men's track and field team posted four first place finishes, gained one provisonal qualifier for the NCAA Division II Championships and had one of its freshmen named as the league's "Freshman of the Year" as it placed fourth at the GLVC Outdoor Championships over the weekend at Southern Illinois Edwardsville.

The winners among the Miner competitors included Brandon Etzold, who earned a share of the GLVC's "Freshman of the Year" award on the strength of his winning effort in the 800-meters in 1:57.22. He was joined on the winner's stand by Kal-El Waters-Jones in the triple jump with a mark of 46-0 1/2, Joffroi Holcombe in the 10,000-meters with a time of 31:38.79, Jordan Henry in the pole vault with a clearance of 16-7 1/2.

Henry's win in the pole vault completed an indoor-outdoor sweep for the Miner junior in the 2008 season.

Sophomore Peter Hollenbeck became the latest Miner to reach a provisional qualifying mark when he cleared a personal best 16-3 1/2 to finish behind Henry in the pole vault. He was one of three Miners to finish among the top four in the event as Jared Anders tied for third at 14-10.

S&T also got a runner-up finish came from Jesse Scott in the high jump with a clearance of 6-1 1/4, while Josh Hesse finished third in the shot put competition with a top mark of 48-6.

The Miners got fourth place finishes from Heath Groom in the javelin throw with a mark of 168-11, Brendan Smith in 1,500-meters in 4:06.94 and Brad Guidry in the discus with a mark of 158-8, while also getting a fifth from Henry in the long jump with a leap of 20-11 1/4.

Andrew Moore placed sixth in the triple jump with a mark of 43-1 1/2 along with Grant Brown in the 10,000-meters in 32:37.70, Mike Wilson in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.16 seconds, Paul Roland in the 800-meters in 1:59.37 and Holcombe in the 5,000-meters with a mark of 15:25.18.

Jeff Pike was seventh in the triple jump at 43-0 1/4 as was Wes Everhart in the javelin at 155-4 and Ian Packard in the 400-meters with a time of 49.71 seconds. Wilson was eighth in the 200-meters in 22.67 seconds.

The Miners' 4x100-meter relay team took fourth in its race with a time of 42.89 seconds and the 4x400 team was fifth in 3:23.30.

The Miners are expected to send some competitors to last chance meets over the course of the next week in a final effort to reach or improve on qualifying marks for the NCAA Championships.

Complete men's results

Morehead wins pole vault, top freshman award at GLVC meet

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GLVC Freshmen of the Year
Leah Morehead & Brandon Etzold

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- Missouri S&T got a sweep of the top three spots in the pole vault to highlight its showing at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships over the weekend at Southern Illinois Edwardsville.

Leah Morehead, who was the co-recipient of the GLVC's "Freshman of the Year" award, won the event with a mark of 11-8 that broke the conference record. The previous holder of the mark, Taylor Hahn, took second with a clearance of 11-2 1/4 and Jamie Statler was third at 10-8 1/4.

S&T got a third place showing from Tamara McCaskill in the high jump as she cleared 5-3 1/4 and fourths from Katie Bruce in the 400-meters with a time of 59.48 seconds in Saturday's finals and Kierra Handley in the 800-meters in a season-best 2:19.44.

Sarah Zaremba also scored points for the Lady Miners in the pole vault with a clearance of 10-2 1/2, while Hannah Terwelp was seventh in the shot put with a mark of 38-2 1/4 as was Hillary Griffith in the 100-meters in 12.49 seconds. Griffith was also eighth in the 200-meters in 26.35 seconds along with Maggie Mawhiney in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:11.52

Both of S&T's relay teams had fourth place finishes, with the 4x100-meter team posting a time of 48.81 seconds and the 4x400 quartet posting a mark of 4:02.40. S&T had the lead in the latter relay at the midway point thanks to a strong second leg by freshman Aubrey Moore.

S&T finished sixth in the final team standings with 58 points; SIUE won the meet with a total of 323 points in its final meet before it reclassifies to NCAA Division I.

Complete results

Miners gain split after falling from playoff chase

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Cody Bass

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- After seeing its own playoff hopes dashed earlier in the day, the Missouri S&T baseball team went about trying to ruin Southern Illinois Edwardsville's chances of making the Great Lakes Valley Tournament field by winning the second game of Saturday's doubleheader by the score of 11-10 at Roy Lee Field.

The Cougars eliminated the Miners from the playoff race with a 12-1 win in game one, but the Miners overcame a 7-1 deficit in the nightcap by batting around the SIUE bullpen in the late innings.

S&T trailed by that 7-1 count after five innings -- getting its only run to that point in the fourth when Zac Carter tripled and scored on Yaimel Javier-Cury's one-out single -- but saw its bats come to life in the sixth as it scored six times to tie the game and set up a wild finish.

The rally started when Thomas McCormick was hit by a pitch to begin the inning. After a hit by Javier-Cury, Eaf Redden was plunked by a pitch to load the bases. Cody Bass delivered a two-run single to knock out SIUE starter Nick Wooley, but the bullpen was unable to slow the Miners down.

Following a one-out walk to Owen Madison that loaded the bases again, Andrew Vance tripled into the alley in right center to clear the bases and cut the lead to 7-6. Moments later, Vance would score the tying run on Gerad Fox's opposite field single.

SIUE reclaimed the lead with two in the bottom of the inning, but the Miners tied it up again in the eighth when Madison singled home one run and the other scored on a bunt single by Fox.

The Cougars took the lead back in the last of the eighth when Daniel Thomson led off with a triple and came in on a hit by Michael Hopkins. However, the Miners took advantage of two SIUE errors and a pair of walks by reliever Daniel Bennett to get their first lead in the top of the ninth.

McCormick hit Bennett's first delivery up the middle for a single, then Javier-Cury hit a ball back to the mound -- but Bennett's throw went wide of second and both runners were safe. After a sacrifice bunt, the Cougars walked Cody Bass intentionally to load the bases. Brandon Cogan followed by hitting a chopper to third that Ben Bartley couldn't come up cleanly, allowing the tying run to score and keeping the bases loaded.

Madison put the Miners on top by lining a single over the outstretched glove of second baseman Josh Street to give S&T the 11-10 lead. Matt Lange pitched around a two-out walk in the bottom half of the inning to preserve the victory for Jordan Buck.

The Miners had 15 hits in game two, with Bass getting three of them and five others getting two apiece. Vance drove in three runs -- all on his triple -- while Fox, Bass and Madison drove in two apiece.

S&T took the early lead in game one when Fox singled, moved to second on a balk and scored on a hit by Carter. The Miners had a chance to extend the lead when they loaded the bases with one out in the third, but the Cougars escaped the jam without allowing a run and then scored three in the third, seven in the fourth and two more in the fifth.

Fox and Carter had two hits each for S&T, which had just six hits in the contest.

The Miners (22-25, 15-16 GLVC), who broke their school record for wins in a season with Saturday's victory, close the 2008 season Sunday with a single game against the Cougars at noon. SIUE currenly trails second place Drury by percentage points for the final guaranteed playoff spot in the GLVC West.

May 02, 2008

SIUE drops Miners in series opener

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- The middle innings proved to be the downfall for the Missouri S&T baseball team Friday night as Southern Illinois Edwardsville scored 10 runs in a three-inning span to win the opening game of the four-game series by the score of 10-6.

Friday's loss drops the Miners to 14-15 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play and means that S&T will have to win all three remaining games in the series to have any chance to qualify for the conference tournament. The Miners are currently two games behind both SIUE and Drury for the last guaranteed playoff spot in the GLVC West.

The Miners got out to a 4-0 lead after 4 1/2 innings, scoring twice in the first inning on a two-run homer by Zac Carter. S&T added to its lead with a run in the third when Thomas McCormick singled home Andrew Vance and again in the fifth when Carter and McCormick had back-to-back doubles.

However, the Cougars got on the scoreboard in the fifth when an error allowed the first run to score, then Cory Bunner's RBI single trimmed the lead to 4-2. SIUE took the lead an inning later when Steve Doll belted a three-run homer off S&T starter Matt Campbell.

After the Miners missed a scoring chance in the seventh when the first two hitters reached base, the Cougars broke the game open with a five-run seventh.

S&T got two runs in the ninth, the first coming when McCormick doubled in Gerad Fox to break the Miners' single-season RBI record with his 46th run batted in of the season. McCormick has driven in at least one run in in 17 of the Miners' last 18 games. He had three hits in the game as did Carter.

Yaimel Javier-Cury also drove in a run in the ninth with a double.

S&T and SIUE will play a doubleheader Saturday starting at noon, then wrap up the series with a single game on Sunday.

May 01, 2008

Lady Miners knocked out of GLVC Tourney on day one

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Kelsey Musselman

EAST PEORIA, Ill. -- Missouri S&T's softball team entered the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament hopeful of playing its way into the NCAA regional next week, but instead saw its season probably come to an end with a pair of losses on the first day of the event.

The Lady Miners dropped games to Rockhurst by a score of 1-0 and to Lewis 10-4 to get eliminated from the tournament. S&T, which entered the league tourney ranked ninth in the NCAA Great Lakes regional rankings, saw its record go to 26-21 on the season.

Rockhurst got the only run of game one in the third inning when Nicole Randolph to start the inning and scored on Holly Hilton's one-out double.

Ashley Wallingford gave up just five hits and struck out five for the Lady Miners, but was outdueled by Emily Dye as she held S&T to three hits in a complete game effort.

The Lady Miners left two runners on base in the first inning, then got the tying run on base three times in the last four innings. A double play ended their chance in the fourth, then they couldn't take advantage of a leadoff hit in the sixth or a two-out walk to Coley Naughton in the seventh.

In the elimination round game against Lewis, S&T jumped on top with two runs in the first. The rally started when Kelsey Musselman reached on an error with two outs, then after a walk to Emily Tucker, Kristen Drage singled to score the first run. A throwing error on the play allowed Tucker to come in with the second run of the inning.

Jen O'Hara allowed one hit in the first two innings and had two outs on the Flyers in the third, but the Lady Miners couldn't get the third out before Lewis scored four times to get the lead. An infield hit by Kelly Dianis kept the inning alive and Carissa Castonzo followed with a two-run double to tie the score. Moments later, Lisa Gartland singled home two more runs to put Lewis on top.

The Lady Miners closed to within one in the fifth when Musselman belted her 14th home run of the season -- breaking the school's single-season record -- but the Flyers pushed its lead out to 9-3 in the bottom half with five more runs.

S&T got one more run in the sixth when Musselman drew a bases loaded walk with one out, but Courtney Lyons got out of the inning with a pop out and a ground out.

Rachel Wilkinson and Drage had two hits apiece for the Lady Miners while Musselman, who was named Wednesday as the GLVC's "Player of the Year" for the 2008 season, drove in two runs and has 47 on the year to go with her 14 home runs. Musselman posted a .422 batting average in her senior year.

Miners sweep UMSL to keep GLVC playoff hopes intact

The Missouri S&T baseball team got exactly what it needed Thursday in its effort to earn a spot in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament -- a doubleheader sweep over Missouri-St. Louis.

The Miners rallied from a four-run deficit in game one to take a 6-4 victory, then completed the sweep by holding off a late Triton rally for a 5-4 win.

With the sweep, the Miners moved into a tie for fourth place in the GLVC's West Division with Quincy, but are just a game and a half behind second place Drury for the final guaranteed playoff spot. S&T closes its conference slate with a four-game series starting Friday at SIU Edwardsville -- the team in third place in the division -- while Drury hosts division leader Southern Indiana and Quincy hosts Rockhurst over the weekend.

The Miners will need to win at least three of the four games at SIUE to have a chance to make it into the playoffs.

UMSL got two runs in the first inning and two more in the fourth to take the 4-0 lead, but the Miners took advantage of some sloppy defensive play by the Tritons to work its way back into the contest and eventually take the lead.

Cody Bass drove in the first two runs with a two-run double with two outs in the fourth, then Brandon Cogan reached on an error to keep the inning alive. Kyle Boehm followed with a hit past short to score Bass to cut the lead to 4-3.

Another UMSL error, this one on a ball hit by Zac Carter, got the Miners' go-ahead rally going in the fifth. Thomas McCormick doubled into the corner to chase home Carter, then he scored the run to put the Miners in front later in the inning on a hit by Yaimel Javier-Cury.

Andrew Vance's successful squeeze play in the sixth wrapped up the scoring.

David Birkby had a rough opening inning, but settled down to get through five and pick up the victory as he gave up just three hits. Kyle Griffin earned a six-out save and fanned three in the process.

S&T built its 5-1 lead in the nightcap with single runs in five of the first seven innings. The Miners grabbed the early advantage when Carter singled home Vance, then extended its lead to 2-0 in the third when Carter drove in Boehm on a sacrifice fly.

Boehm's RBI single in the fourth made it 3-0, then McCormick drove in a run in the fifth to give the Miners a four-run lead. After the Tritons got on the board in the sixth, the Miners got their four-run lead back on a sacrifice fly by Eaf Redden in the seventh.

UMSL got an unearned run in the eighth off reliever Danny Trenner, then got two off Brian Rickert in the ninth and had the tying and go-ahead runs on base. Rickert got Ryan Ayers on strikes and Steve Porter to fly out to end the game.

Boehm had three hits for the Tritons, while Carter drove in two for S&T. McCormick drove in a run in both games and has at least one RBI in 16 of the Miners' last 17 contests.