Box Score ABILENE, Texas - The St. Edward's baseball team has been on a roll at the plate the past eight games, averaging almost 15 runs a game. Tuesday afternoon, the Hilltoppers did not disappoint as they pounded out 25 hits on their way to a 24-11 blowout victory over Abilene Christian at Crutcher Scott Field.

After both teams went in order in the first inning, St. Edward's (14-9) put up six runs in the second inning. The Hilltoppers loaded up the bases to start the inning, then Paul McCoy (Senior, Killeen, Texas) singled in a run. Colin Elmore (Junior, Dallas, Texas) followed with a bases-clearing single for a 4-0 lead. Adam Shank (Junior, Sugar Land, Texas) capped off the scoring with a two-RBI double.

After Abilene Christian (14-11) responded with three runs in the bottom of the second inning, St. Edward's went right back at it, putting up seven runs in the third inning. Kyle Harris (Junior, Layton, Utah) reached on a one-out double to left field. Will McCaleb (Junior, Houston, Texas) followed with a towering home run to left field to push the lead to 8-3. McCoy, Elmore, Shank, Taylor Johnson (Sophomore, Dripping Springs, Texas) and Daniel Homann (Freshman, The Woodlands, Texas) all had RBI during the inning as St. Edward's upped its lead to 13-3.

The Wildcats tried to keep up by scoring four runs in the bottom of the third inning, but St. Edward's kept its foot on the gas. Shank picked up another RBI with a double in the fifth inning and Johnson added an RBI-single in the same inning.

Shank stayed hot, launching a two-run homer over the scoreboard in the seventh inning. Harris also picked up another RBI with a double in the same inning. Harris would add a homer of his own in the eighth inning, driving in three runs.

The game would end in the eighth inning due to the mercy rule.

"It's been nice to watch our offense kick into gear over the last week or two," head coach Rob Penders said. "Usually when that happens one or two key hitters take consistent at bats, which in turn takes pressure off of the rest of the lineup. We've had that happen with Adam, Colin, and Kyle, among others. You can't say that three guys have carried us during this stretch because it takes everyone in the lineup and players coming off of the bench to produce this many runs."

Matt Anderson (Junior, Houston, Texas) picked up the victory in relief, allowing three runs on six hits, while striking out two in 4.2 innings of work.

Shank finished the afternoon, going 5-for-6 with three doubles, a triple and a home run. He also scored four runs and drove in a career-high eight runs. Elmore and Harris both drove in four runs. Harris, Homann and McCoy all tallied four hits in the game.

St. Edward's will be back in action this weekend when they travel to take on Arkansas-Fort Smith. The three-game series will begin on Friday with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. On Saturday, the two teams will play a single game at 1 p.m.

"Fort Smith will be a good test for us," Penders said. "Any team that can win a series against St. Mary's in San Antonio is obviously a good team. They had a strong nucleus of players to build a team around last year and it looks like they've done just that. Hopefully we can put all facets of our team together over one weekend and gain some momentum that will carry us into the second half of the conference schedule."