LEBANON, Ill – Runs, runs and more runs was the gameplan for Maryville baseball team as it battled McKendree in a Friday doubleheader. Game one saw the Saints overcome two massive Bearcat innings to win 16-15. The second bout, originally scheduled for seven frames, got settled in eight, with the Saints needing extras to pull off the 8-7 win.

Three separate Saints recorded four RBI days, with Dominic Sharp and Jace Burton combining for eight runs in game one, while it was Camden Ruby's turn in game two, with him taking two out of the yard. 

Overall, the Saints hit eight home runs in their first day in Lebanon, Ill.

GAME 1 | Maryville 16, McKendree 15
Maryville quickly stormed to a 4-0 lead in the first, with Cole Christman, in the third at bat of the game, going deep to dead center. Burton later added on with a RBI single to right. 

McKendree, not to be outgunned, plated nine over the next two frames, starting what ended as a massive back-and-forth battle. The second Josh Herget homer of the season made it 9-7 after the top of the fourth. 

The seventh is where the Saints finally put it out of reach, ballooning the lead to 15-10. Sharp added some insurance in the eighth to fend off a McKendree comeback attempt, leaving it 16-15 after nine. 

GAME 2 | Maryville 8, McKendree 7
Despite the first two frames being scoreless, the runs did not stop for either squad, with it being 3-3 after the top of the fifth, with Ruby unleashing his first home run in the fifth. Bearcat runs in the bottom of the fifth and sixth made it 5-4 heading into the final frame. 

Ambrose Russo set the tone in a big way, going yard on a 1-0 count to tie the game. After a Sharp walk, it was time for Ruby to leave the yard once again as he blasted one over the big wall in right for the 7-5 lead. 
 

That lead did not hold, as the Bearcats used their own big fly to tie the game up to push it to extras. After the first two Saints reached, it was time for Christman to play the hero, ripping a ball into centerfield for the go-ahead. 

Noah Harbin bounced back in a big way in the bottom of the eighth, stranding a walk and earning the win. 

UP NEXT
The Saints and Bearcats are right back at it tomorrow at 12 & 3 p.m. to finish out the series.