MARION, Ill. – The Maryville baseball team saw its season come to an end at the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Tournament at Mtn. Dew Park in Marion, Ill., late Wednesday night.
The Saints nearly completed two historic comebacks, successfully rallying in the opener before narrowly falling short in game two to close the 2026 campaign.
Opening tournament play at 12:30 p.m. against the No. 7-seeded Quincy Hawks, the Saints earned a 6-5 extra-inning victory to advance.
Already with one comeback win under their belt, the Saints then faced No. 3-seeded Indianapolis at 8:15 p.m., coming just one hit short of another dramatic rally. Maryville trailed by six entering the top of the ninth and plated five runs before ultimately falling 7-6.
The Saints finish their season 27-24 overall, with a 20-12 mark in GLVC competition.
GAME 1 | Maryville 6, Quincy 5
All-GLVC selection
Brayden Rubel got the ball for the Saints in their GLVC Tournament opener and kept an explosive Quincy lineup at bay through 5 1/3 innings. Rubel stranded five runners and struck out five in his outing.
Rubel surrendered a solo home run in the second inning and a sacrifice fly in the fourth as the Hawks built an early 2-0 advantage. The Saints responded immediately in the bottom half of the fourth with a four-run inning to take the lead.
Dominic Anselmo opened the frame with an eight-pitch, full-count walk before
Steven Schneider worked another full count and lined the final pitch he saw down the right-field line for an RBI triple.
Tim Leark forced the third-straight full count and tied the game on an RBI fielder's choice after Quincy attempted to throw out Schneider at the plate.
Two more Saints reached before another RBI fielder's choice, this one off the bat of
Justin Gorski, gave Maryville the lead and forced a pitching change.
Matthew Rauser then jumped on the third pitch he saw from the new arm, lining a single through the left side to double the Saints' advantage.
The bats quieted from there, with only four more combined hits recorded until Quincy rallied in the eighth inning. The Hawks plated one in the eighth before, down to their final out in the ninth, launching a solo home run to tie the game and force extra innings.
In the top of the 10th, Quincy regained the lead using a pair of singles and a hit-by-pitch to move in front 5-4.
Trailing by one in the bottom half, Schneider was plunked on a hitter's count before
Aaris Stolte drew a walk two batters later to push the tying run into scoring position. With
Dominic Sharp entering as a pinch hitter, Quincy went to the bullpen, but it did not matter as Sharp lined a single into right field to tie the game.
Gorski then lifted a fly ball deep enough to advance Stolte to third before the Quincy reliever spiked a fastball to the backstop, allowing Stolte to race home with the walk-off run.
GAME 2 | UIndy 7, Maryville 6
It was all Greyhounds through the opening eight innings as UIndy plated seven unanswered runs. The Saints' offense struggled to solve the Greyhounds' starter, managing just two hits through the first seven frames.
Maryville finally broke through in the eighth, chasing the starter after a Gorski triple. Rauser followed with an RBI single to center, trimming the deficit to 7-1 entering the ninth.
With their season on the line, the Saints played inspired ball, seeing the first six batters reach base and cutting the game to 7-3. Leark delivered a two-RBI single during the stretch to keep the comeback alive.
After UIndy turned to its closer,
Zane Timon jumped on the first pitch he saw and lined it the opposite way to load the bases. A strikeout brought the Saints down to one out before Rauser lifted a ball over the left fielder's head to cut the lead to two.
A hit-by-pitch reloaded the bases for
Jack Meyer, who brought the Saints within one on an RBI groundout. However, despite an eight-pitch battle in the final at-bat of the night, Maryville was unable to bring home the tying run, ending the season one run short.
