St. Louis – The Maryville baseball team earned a split with McKendree to open play in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Saturday afternoon at Weber Field. The Saints used a pair of big innings to win the opener 7-5 while the Bearcats held the Saints to four hits in the nightcap to grab a 5-2 win.
 
Game One: 
The Bearcats opened the scoring with a pair of runs in the fourth frame to take a 2-0 lead. The Saints answered in their half of the fifth as Desmond Woods ripped a double down the left field line to score a pair of runs to tie the game at 2-2. Woods then scored as Nick Hoffman singled into left field to put the Saints ahead 3-2. 
 
McKendree regained the lead in the eighth with three runs on two hits to grab a 5-3 advantage, but the Saints once again rallied in the home half of the inning to take the lead. Alex Hoff tied the game at 5-5 with a two-run single up the middle while Elias Stevens drew a bases loaded walk and Hayden Thornton crossed home plate on a wild pitch to give Maryville a 7-5 lead.
 
The Bearcats attempted to rally again in the ninth as they opened the inning with a double, but Sam Danker retired the last three batters to earn his first save of the year.
 
Winning Pitcher: Jacob Kroeger (1-0)
Save: Danker (1)
Losing Pitcher:  C. Berendt (0-1)
Hitting leader: Woods – 1-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI, run scored
                         Hoff – 1-for-2, 3B, run scored
 
Game Two: 
Austin Tapella put the Saints on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first as he drove in Dominic Connolly with a single to right field to give Maryville a 1-0 lead. The Saints took advantage of a pair of wild pitches in the fourth to extend the lead to 2-0. 
 
The Bearcats tied the game in the fifth with two runs on three hits and took the lead in the seventh on two sacrifice flies to centerfield to grab a 4-2 lead.
 
McKendree added an insurance run in the eighth inning to extend the lead to 5-2 and retired 9 of the last 10 Saint batters to earn the victory.
 
Winning Pitcher: B. Boles (2-0)
Save: Vallandingham (3)
Losing Pitcher:  Kaleb Huxford (1-2)
Hitting leader: Ben Hopkins – 2-for-4, 2B
                         Tapella – 1-for-4, RBI
 
Records:
Maryville – 6-9, 1-1 GLVC
McKendree – 5-8, 1-1 GLVC
 
Up Next: The Saints wrap-up its series with McKendree Sunday with a single game set to begin at noon at Weber Field.