St. Louis – The Maryville University baseball team exploded for 33 runs and 39 hits as the Saints swept Truman State Saturday afternoon at Weber Field. Five Saints had three hits apiece in the opener as Maryville defeated the Bulldogs 19-9 in eight innings. In the nightcap, the Saints pounded out six extra-base hits en route to a 14-3 win in seven innings. The two wins extend the Saints winning streak to eight games while the 21 conference victories are the most for a Maryville team since the school joined the Great Lakes Valley Conference in 2011.
 
Game One:
The Saints struck in the home half of the first inning as Louis Niemerg ripped a double down the right field line and scored on a fielding error to put Maryville ahead 1-0. The Bulldogs answered with three runs in the top of the second to grab a 3-1 advantage. The Saints regained the lead in the second as Alex Hoff hit a sacrifice fly, Drake Lubin ripped an RBI single and Wyatt Elbe laced a run scoring double to put Maryville ahead 5-3. Niemerg added another run in the frame with a single to left field and scored as Camdon Mercier drilled a double down the left field line to extend the margin to 7-3. The offense continued to roll in the inning as Dominic Connolly and Derek Renner each hit RBI singles to give the Saints an 9-3 advantage.

The Saints added to the edge in the third as Niemerg lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to give Maryville a 10-3 lead. The Bulldogs scored three runs in the fifth to make the score 10-6. Maryville answered in the fifth as Niemerg, Klotz, and Mercier each hit RBI singles to put the Saints on top 13-6. Truman State continued to battle back and once again plated three runs in the sixth to make the score 13-9. Maryville added four runs in the sixth with Klotz highlighting the inning with a two-run blast to center field to put the Saints on top 17-9. The Saints closed out the game with a pair of runs in the eighth to claim their seventh consecutive win.
 
Winning Pitcher: Niemerg (4-3)
Save: 
Losing Pitcher: C. McKenna (0-8)
Hitting leader: Niemerg – 3-for-5, 2B, 3 RBI, three runs scored
                         Klotz – 3-for-6, HR, 3 RBI, two runs scored
                         Mercier – 3-for-6, 2B, 3 RBI, run scored
 
Game Two:
The Saints offense picked up right where it left off as they sent 11 batters to the plate in the first inning to take a 6-0 lead. The outburst was fueled by a Klotz RBI double, and Covert drove in a pair of runs with another double. Lubin added to the Maryville cushion in the third with an RBI single to right to put the Saints on top 7-0. The Bulldogs cracked the scoreboard in the fifth with a three-run home run to cut the Saints advantage to 7-3.

Maryville got those three runs right back in the bottom of the fifth as Lubin ripped an RBI single down the left field line and Connolly hit a two-run single up the middle to push the Saints on top 10-3. The Saints sealed the victory with four runs in the seventh as Covert ended the contest with a two-run blast to left field to give Maryville the sweep and an eight-game winning streak.
 
Winning Pitcher:  Cody Creed (5-4)
Save: None
Losing Pitcher: M. Hatch (0-9)
Hitting leader: Lubin – 3-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, two runs scored
                         Mercier – 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, two runs scored
                         Covert – 2-for-4, HR, 2B, 4 RBI, two runs scored
                         
 
Records:
Maryville – 26-17, 21-8 GLVC
Truman State – 6-31, 6-23 GLVC
 
Up Next: The Saints wrap-up the three-game series with the Bulldogs tomorrow on Senior Day with a single game starting at noon.