ST. LOUIS – Maryville University baseball finished a four-game sweep of Upper Iowa University with a pair of wins on Sunday afternoon. The Saints have won five in a row and improved to 11-5 in 2024 and begin their conference schedule 4-0.    
                                                               
Game One Recap
Ben Prywitch started the day with a scoreless first inning before Elias Stevens belted his sixth home run of 2024 in the bottom of the first to drive in a pair of runs. The Peacocks did not respond until a solo home run from Brock Zimmer in the top of the fourth.
 
In the bottom of the fourth up 2-1, Maryville scored three runs on three hits and two errors. They added another in the bottom of the sixth when sophomore shortstop Jack Zebig blasted his fourth home run of the series to extend the lead to 6-1.
 
Prywitch continued dealing through the remainder of his start, getting a 1-2-3 inning in the sixth before stranding runners at second in third in the top of the seventh to end the game with a 6-1 final. In total, the redshirt senior went the full seven innings allowing one earned run with nine strikeouts.
 
Winning Pitcher: Ben Prywitch (2-1)
Losing Pitcher: A. Sanchez (1-2)
  
Batting Leaders
Elias Stevens: 1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, SB
Jack Zebig: 2-for-3, HR, RBI, 2 R, SB
Dominic Sharp: 2-for-3, 2B, R
 
Game Two Recap
Determined to avoid the sweep, Upper Iowa started the game with a run-scoring double from Cael Luzum in the top of the second. Matt Arnold singled in Colin Bergmann the bottom half to knot the game up at one.
 
A Maryville error allowed a runner to score in the third before JJ Vargas hit a solo home run in the fifth to extend the UIU lead to 3-1.
 
The Peacocks pulled their starting pitcher after five solid innings of work and the Saints welcomed the bullpen arm by scoring three runs. An error, a Bergmann single, and a walk to Dominic Sharp loaded the bases for Josh Herget who drove in a run with a fielder's choice. Herget then stole second and both runners came in to score on Andy Bunton's clutch RBI single up the middle to put Maryville up 4-3.
 
Vargas homered again to lead off the top of the eighth inning to tie the game at four. The game remained deadlocked until a walk, a single, and a wild pitch put two runners in scoring position for Michael Gould. Gould got a pitch to his liking and drove it into centerfield for a walk-off single and a 6-5 Saints win.
 
Winning Pitcher: Ryan Hoshaw (3-0)
Losing Pitcher: S. Marhefke (0-1)
  
Batting Leaders
Michael Gould: 2-for-5, Walk-Off RBI, SB
Andy Bunton: 2-for-4, 2 RBI
Colin Bergmann: 2-for-4, 2 R
 
Records:
Maryville: 11-5, 4-0 GLVC
Hillsdale: 3-9, 0-4 GLVC
 
What's Next?
The homestand continues for the Saints with another four-game conference series against Quincy University beginning on Friday, March 15. The first pitch is set for 2 p.m.
  Read Full Article