ST. LOUIS – Maryville University baseball extended its winning streak to seven games on Friday afternoon with a doubleheader sweep of McKendree University. The Saints were led by an offensive explosion and a seven-inning complete-game performance from freshman Ben Gregory on the mound in game two.
 
Game One Recap
Jack Zebig and Michael Gould started the top of the first inning with walks, bringing in Zeb Roos who doubled home a run. McKendree fought back with a pair of strikeouts, but a passed ball allowed a second run to score.
 
Maryville starter Jacob Kroeger got a strikeout to start the bottom half of the first before loading the bases with two-out walks. He worked out unscathed with a swinging strikeout to hold up a 2-0 advantage.
 
The Saints tacked on another run in the top of the second with a Gould RBI double, but the Bearcats answered back with a three-run home run in the bottom half to tie the game.
 
Matt Schuler quickly restored the lead in the third with a three-run home run and Michael Long went back-to-back with him with a solo shot to left field. Maryville went on to score three more runs in the inning to open up a 10-3 lead.
 
McKendree got two back in the bottom of the third, and in the fourth Stephen Randazzo broke through with his first home run of the season to make it 11-5. The teams exchanged runs over the next few innings before Philip Reinhardt sealed up a 13-8 win for the Saints with four innings of work out of the bullpen.

Winning Pitcher: Philip Reinhardt (2-0)
Losing Pitcher: M. Grant (0-1)
  
Batting Leaders
Stephen Randazzo: 2-for-5, HR, 3 RBI
Zeb Roos: 3-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI
Matt Schuler: 1-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, BB

 
Game Two Recap
The first two hitters in the Maryville lineup continued to stay hot in the first inning of game two. Zebig smoked a double over the centerfielder's head to lead off the game and Gould plated him with a double of his own to give him his team-leading 13^th RBI of the season. Elias Stevens came up two hitters later and made it 2-0 with a sacrifice fly.
 
Freshman starting pitcher Ben Gregory began his fourth career start by striking out the side in the bottom of the first inning. He added three more over his next two scoreless frames.
 
The Bearcats scratched a run across in the fourth when a leadoff single, a walk, and an error cut the lead in half. The game remained 2-1 until the top of the seventh inning.
 
Andy Bunton led off the top of the final frame with a single, opening up a nine-run explosion for the Saints. Nick Hofmann, Schuler (2), Long, Zebig (2), and Stevens all had RBI in the inning.
 
Pat Evers sent the freshman out in the bottom half to finish off the complete game. McKendree scored a run with one out before Gregory slammed the door with two more strikeouts to give his team an 11-2 victory. In total, the Penn High School product allowed one earned with four hits and 13 strikeouts over seven innings of work.

Winning Pitcher: Ben Gregory (2-0)
Losing Pitcher: B. Matthews (1-2)x
  
Batting Leaders
Jack Zebig: 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R, BB
Matt Schuler: 1-for-3, 2 RBI, BB
Michael Gould: 2-for-4, RBI, 2 R, BB
 
Records:
Maryville: 9-5, 2-0 GLVC
McKendree: 6-10, 0-2 GLVC

What's Next?
The series against McKendree continues on Saturday, March 11, with an 11 a.m., start at Weber Baseball Field.