LEBANON, Ill. – The Maryville baseball team secured its first Great Lakes Valley Conference series win of the season on Saturday in Lebanon, Ill., defeating the McKendree Bearcats 19-3 in game four of the series, bouncing back from a 5-4 comeback loss in game three.
Game four was originally set to be played on Sunday by itself, but heavy storms set to hit St. Louis on Sunday forced the GLVC-series to a pair of doubleheaders.
It was a career day for
Aaris Stolte in game two as the Saints shortstop tallied five RBIs, while both
Cole Christman and
Nick Daugherty brought home four runs. In total, six Saints had an RBI.
GAME 1 | McKendree 5, Maryville 4
Josh Herget brought the boom early in game one as rain came in and out in Lebanon, Ill. With both
Dominic Sharp and
Ambrose Russo getting on, Herget took a 0-1 ball deep to left center, keeping his hot streak going and making it 3-0.
Jace Burton's RBI double capped off the four-run inning in what looked like to be another big run game for the Saints.
The Bearcats starter, Cody Bledsoe, recovered from the rough first frame, recording 4 2/3 scoreless, while his offense made it 4-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth.
An RBI double from the home team brought it within one, with a errant throw allowing two more runs to score for the 5-4 lead.
Down to their final three outs, the Saints got the tying run on base but were unable to bring it home.
GAME 2 | Maryville 19, McKendree 3
Russo began game two with a bang, going yard for his team-leading eighth homer of the season. McKendree answered with a run in the bottom half of the first and second, but a massive four-run third inning put the Saints up 5-2.
It started with Sharp hammering a double down the left field line, with the Bearcat pitcher bringing him home on a wild pitch and a balk. Christman kept the barrels coming with his own double.
Camden Ruby's walk brought it to first and second for Stolte who proceeded to go yard.
McKendree brought one home in the fourth, with Ruby's solo-shot erasing that just an inning later. The game got ugly from there as the Saints piled on six in the sixth inning and seven in the seventh to find the 19-3 final score.
"SAINTS SMACKERS"
The Saints end the weekend having scored 47 runs over four games, with 10 doubles and a staggering 13 home runs for a team OPS of 1.186.
Two Saints recorded eight-RBI weekends, with Christman going yard twice with nine hits, and Herget taking three out, those being his lone hits of the weekend.
The Saints fell just four bases short of 100 as a team over the weekend.
UP NEXT
With some new fire after a very successful offensive weekend, the Saints will look to avenge their midweek loss to the Illinois Springfield Prairie Stars on Tuesday, April 1 at 23 p.m. in Springfield, Ill.
