MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Maryville University baseball won its season opener 10-8 over No. 17 Southern Arkansas University before dropping game two in walk-off fashion. The Saints used a seven-run outburst in the seventh inning of game one to earn their first win of 2024.
 
Game One Recap
The Saints jumped ahead in the first inning on a Jacob Hager single to left field to bring in Michael Gould. Camden Ruby doubled the lead with a home run down the right-field line in his first at-bat of the new campaign. 
 
Starter Jacob Kroeger was cruising through the first three innings but found some trouble in the fourth. Trace Shoup brought in a run with a bases-loaded walk. The Muleriders then chased Kroeger from the game in the fifth and put up four more runs to take a 5-2 lead. 
 
In the top of the seventh, now trailing 6-3, Maryville reached base with nine straight batters to open up a 10-6 lead. Hager drove in a run with a single, Colin Bergman doubled to right-center for a pair of RBI, Michael Long drove in two more with a triple, Matt Arnold singled through the infield for a run, and Jack Zebig brought in the seventh run with a sacrifice fly. 
 
SAU continued to chip away at the Maryville bullpen, getting one back in the seventh and one in the eighth. They loaded the bases in the ninth inning with one out, but Noah Arras came in and got a strikeout and a flyout to right to end the game with a 10-8 final. Arras picked up his first save of the season while Philip Reinhardt earned the win with two innings out of the pen. 
 
Winning Pitcher: Philip Reinhardt (1-0)
Losing Pitcher: A. Adair (0-1)
Save: Noah Arras (1)
  
Batting Leaders
Michael Long: 2-for-5, 3B, 3 RBI, R
Jacob Hager: 3-for-6, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R
Colin Bergmann: 2-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI, R­
 
Game Two Recap
Southern Arkansas struck first with a trio of runs in the bottom of the third inning. Freshman Gavyn Schacher drove in a run in the top of the fourth to pull within two. 
 
The game remained locked in at 3-1 until the top of the seventh. Zebig doubled to center when Elias Stevens stepped up with two outs and the game on the line and drilled a two-run home run to center field. 
 
In the bottom of the seventh, the Muleriders got a pair of walks to set the stage for a walk-off single through the left side of the infield. Nolan Miller was on the hook for the loss with two-thirds of an inning out of the bullpen while Isaiah Haynes had his team earn him his first win of the season. 
 
Sophomore Ben Gregory got the start on the mound for the Saints and he went two and two-thirds innings with three runs allowed, two earned, and three strikeouts. Freshman Noah Harbin pitched over an inning of scoreless ball as well, while Ryan Hoshaw pitched two innings allowing one run with three strikeouts. 
 
Winning Pitcher: I. Haynes (1-0)
Losing Pitcher: Nolan Miller (0-1)
  
Batting Leaders
Elias Stevens: 1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI
Gavyn Schacher: 1-for-3, RBI
Jack Zebig: 1-for-3, 2B, R
 
Records:
Maryville: 1-1
Southern Arkansas: 4-2
 
What's Next?
Maryville wraps up the series in game three against Southern Arkansas at noon on Saturday, Feb. 10.  
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