KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Maryville baseball won their first conference series of the year over the weekend, taking two of the final three contests on the road against Rockhurst University.  
  
Saturday Game 1 Recap
The Saints fell behind early in Saturday's first game after Rockhurst put up three in the bottom of the first inning. Maryville immediately started the comeback bid with a Michael Gould RBI single to center field to bring home Alex Hoff.
 
Hawks starter Michael Laudando posted three more zeroes after that but ran into trouble in the sixth. With one out, Dominic Connolly started a rally with a single to third base. Elias Stevens later walked with two outs to bring up Ben Hopkins who tied the game with a two-RBI double to right-center. A Hawk error put runners on the corners for Gould who doubled home the go-ahead run.
 
Relieving for Geo Camfield after a solid start, Philip Reinhardt shut out the home team in his two innings of work, earning the win while picking up three strikeouts along the way.
 
Winning Pitcher: Philip Reinhardt (1-0)
Losing Pitcher: Michael Laudando (4-2)
  
Hitting Leaders:
Ben Hopkins: 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, 1 R
Michael Gould: 3-3, 2 RBI, SB


 
Saturday Game 2 Recap
Rockhurst jumped out to an 8-1 lead after four innings of Saturday's second game. The Saints put together a late rally, however.
 
Maryville got three in the top of the fifth on a wild pitch that brought in Connolly, a sacrifice fly from Joey Polak to bring in Andy Bunton, and another RBI from Hopkins to pull within four.
 
Rockhurst added one more in the bottom half, followed by three more Saints runs in the top of the sixth to narrow the gap to two runs. The Saints continued to apply pressure in the seventh by pushing across another run, but the late-inning magic ultimately fell short, losing 10-8.
 
Winning Pitcher: Ethan Kulpinski (4-1)
Losing Pitcher: Nolan Miller (2-1)

Hitting Leaders:
Ben Hopkins: 2-4, RBI, R
Andy Bunton: 2-3, 2 R
 


Sunday Recap
Hoping to take their first Great Lakes Valley Conference series of the 2022 season, the Saints got out to a big lead early. Connolly picked up two RBI in the first two innings, with Hopkins, Hoff, and Bunton all assisting with one RBI each to put the visitors ahead 5-0.
 
The Hawks added two in the fifth, but that is all they would get off starting pitcher Jacob Kroeger. The Palmyra, Missouri native tossed 6.1 innings with six hits allowed and nine strikeouts before being relieved by Noah Arras.
 
Brad Willis widened the lead to 6-2 with a solo home run in the eighth, his third of the season. Rockhurst responded with two in the bottom half.
 
An RBI double from Hoff gave the Saints insurance in the top of the ninth before Arras recorded the final out to end a series-clinching victory.
 
Winning Pitcher: Jacob Kroeger (1-1)
Losing Pitcher: Jake Canent (1-1)
  
Hitting Leaders:
Dominic Connolly: 1-4, 2 RBI, 1 R
Alex Hoff: 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI
Brad Willis: 2-3, HR, 2 BB, 2 R
 


Records:
Maryville: 12-10, 3-1 GLVC
Rockhurst: 11-11, 1-3 GLVC
  
What's Next?
The Saints are back home for a midweek contest against the University of Southern Indiana on Tuesday, March 29. The first pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.