(LEBANON, Ill., March 14)--The McKendree University baseball team is on quite a tear as the Bearcats prepare for their Great Lakes Valley Conference debut this weekend at Missouri S & T. The Bearcats and Miners will tangle in a four-game series that will take place Friday and Saturday at Missouri S & T Field in Rolla, Mo. First pitch each day is set for noon.

All four games of the McKendree/Missouri S & T series can be heard live on the Bearcat Sports Network at www.mckbearcats.com/listenlive. Each doubleheader will begin with a 10-minute pre-game show.

McKendree has won its last five games and takes a 5-2 overall record into the opening weekend of GLVC play. This marks the Bearcats' longest win streak since putting together a six-game tear from March 28-April 2, 2011. The weekend set at Missouri S & T will also mark McKendree's first road games of the 2013 season. The Bearcats were just 5-20 last year away from home while playing an NCAA Division II independent schedule.

In its last outing on Tuesday, McKendree was able to sweep a non-conference doubleheader from former American Midwest Conference foe Harris-Stowe State University, 4-2 and 6-5. In the nightcap, the Bearcats trailed 5-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, but scored four in the frame to tie the contest, then scratched out a run in the bottom of the seventh to complete the sweep.

Of players with at least 10 at-bats in the young season, senior first baseman Rob Beatty (Millstadt, IL/Belleville West) leads McKendree with a .429 batting average. Sophomore outfielder Kyle Rutledge (Bloomington, IL/Normal) is next at .348, while senior outfielder Pat Thole (Carlyle, IL/Breese Central) is third on the squad in hitting at .333.

On the mound, the McKendree staff has been led by junior right-hander Jon Trampe (Collinsville, IL/Metro East Lutheran). All three of Trampe's appearances this season have come in a relief role, and he has earned victories in each one with the latest coming in Tuesday's rally against Harris-Stowe.

Missouri S & T picked up its first win of the 2013 season on Wednesday and has an overall record of 1-7 on the year. The Bearcats and Miners have not met on the baseball field since the 2009 season, when the teams played a non-conference twinbill in late April. Missouri S & T won the first game 7-4 before the teams battled to a 9-9 tie through nine innings in game two. The second contest was called due to darkness.

Kyle Rich leads the offensive attack for the Miners with a .379 batting average. Rich also paces the Miners with five RBI. Thomas Laudadio has pitched complete games in both of his 2013 starts for Missouri S & T, going 0-2 with a 3.46 ERA.