Bolivar, Mo. – The Maryville baseball team dropped a pair of games to Southwest Baptist to open Great Lakes Valley Conference action Tuesday afternoon at Dodson Field in Bolivar, Mo. The Saints fell in the first game of the day to the Bearcats 4-2. In the nightcap, Maryville could not overcome a big fourth inning as Southwest Baptist defeated the Saints 7-2.
Game One:
The Saints opened the scoring in the top of the first as
Dominic Connolly started things off with a double and moved to third on a
Michael Gould infield single. Connolly came home on a
Joey Polak single to give Maryville a 1-0 lead. The Bearcats answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning to even the game at 1-1. Southwest Baptist took the lead in the fourth with an RBI single to make the score 2-1.
The Saints tied the game in the top of the seventh as Polak once again drove in Connolly with a single to left field to even the score at 2-2. The Bearcats answered in the bottom of the seventh with a walk-off two run blast to secure the victory.
Winning Pitcher: Van Every (1-1)
Save: None
Losing Pitcher: Drake Salsman (0-1)
Hitting leaders: Connolly – 2-for-4, 2B, two runs scored
Polak – 3-for-4, 2 RBI
Game Two:
The Saints took the lead in the top of the third as Polak hit his first home run of the year over the left field wall to give Maryville an early 1-0 lead. The Bearcats answered with five runs in the bottom of the fourth frame highlighted by a three-run triple to grab a 5-1 advantage. Southwest Baptist added a pair of runs in the fifth inning to extend its lead to 7-1.
Maryville battled in the seventh as Connolly drove in
Jamie Young to cut the Bearcat lead to 7-2. The Saints had an opportunity later in the frame with runners at first and second, but Southwest Baptist forced a flyout to left field to end the uprising and earn the doubleheader sweep.
Winning Pitcher: Morrow (2-0)
Save: None
Losing Pitcher: Kaleb Huxford (0-3)
Hitting leaders: Polak – 1-for-2, HR (1), RBI, run scored
Matt Schuler – 1-for-3
Records:
Maryville – 2-7, 0-2 GLVC
Southwest Baptist – 5-1, 2-0 GLVC
Up Next: Maryville returns to Weber Field to take on Rockhurst in a four-game series set to begin with a single game Friday, March 19, at 2 p.m.