Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – St. Edward's Head Coach Rob Penders reached a milestone Monday afternoon as he captured the 300^th win of his career during a doubleheader split with Ouachita Baptist. St. Edward's defeated Tigers, 5-4 in game one but dropped a heartbreaker in game two, 3-2 in extra innings.
 
Game 1:
CAMERON STANTON came away with the victory throwing 5.1 innings while allowing just four hits and tallying seven strikeouts. St. Edward's broke the scoreless tie in the fourth inning after KEVIN MAYO singled to right center before scoring on a single from NATE TURNER.
 
The Hilltoppers came back in the fifth with two more runs as GABLE WHITACRE walked and moved to second on a wild pitch. J.D. Arrowood delivered a single up the middle to score Whitacre. Back-to-back singles from JOSEPH OLSON and Mayo loaded the bases for Wes Harris. Harris hit what looked to be a routine double play ball, but he hustled to first and beat the throw to score Arrowood.
 
Stanton ran into trouble in the sixth and was relieved by ERIC HESTER who allowed just one of Stanton's runners to score, keeping the score at 3-1. Arrowood singled to start the seventh and Mayo hit a towering pop fly that was dropped by the center fielder and allowed both runners to advance to second and third.  Harris proceeded to hit a sacrifice fly to score Arrowood and DYLAN WATTS hit a single to bump the Hilltopper lead to 5-1.
 
The Tigers fought back in the ninth inning as two of the first three runners reached by error and a single. After the fourth batter doubled, St. Edward's turned to CAM HATCH to close the door. However, Justin Weigle turned on a pitch and narrowly kept it fair down the left field line to score two more runs and bring the score to 5-4. Hatch responded with a strikeout and forced a groundout to preserve the victory and give the Hilltoppers their first win of the season.
 
J.D. Arrowood had a great game at the plate as he went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. CAM HATCH earned the save pitching 0.2 innings, allowing a hit and registering a strikeout.
 
Game 2:
The Hilltoppers sent JOSH GUERRA to the mound in the hopes of securing a second victory.
 
Things did not start well for Guerra as he gave up a single and shortly after a homerun. After a quick conference, he regrouped and would go on to give up just two more hits in his four innings of work, which also included seven strikeouts.
 
Arrowood looked to get St. Edward's into the game as he delivered a double down the left field line to start the second inning. After another Olson single, Watts hit a sacrifice fly to center and brought Arrowood in to cut the lead to 2-1.
 
The Hilltoppers would tie it up in the third inning as NATE TURNER singled to right and stole second to put himself in position to score. He later advanced to third on a wild pitch and Whitacre hit another sacrifice fly to right to score Turner.
 
Both teams struggled to make contact in the second game as both teams combined for 23 strikeouts. The game was originally supposed to go seven innings, but both bullpens pitched extremely well. NATE TURNER had a game saving play from center field as he threw out a runner at the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning.
 
CAM HATCH was brought into the ninth but Ouachita managed to manufacture a run. With the bases loaded and one out, Jace Melby delivered a near perfect safety squeeze which forced Hatch to come off the mound and attempt to make a play. He gathered and threw home but his throw was too late and the Tigers snuck out a 3-2 victory.
 
Lance Cullum finished with the victory while Hatch suffered a tough luck loss. Despite the tough loss, Head Coach Rob Penders applauded his team's effort this weekend. "I felt like we competed really well. We went into a tough environment to play and we were in all three games till the end. It was encouraging to see us compete that well against a good team."
 
In terms of reaching win number 300, Penders was very humble in his assessment of the achievement. "To be honest reaching it makes me feel old. It's a testament to the players and assistant coaches, not just me. I get the accolades but we worked hard for these wins together." However he did implore that their work was just getting started. "We need to tighten things up offensively. We haven't played our team offense consistently yet. I'd like to see us bring our full arsenal to the plate when we face Lindenwood."
 
Penders career record currently sits at 300-151. His 300 wins place him second all-time in program history trailing only John Knorr who has 317 wins. The Hilltoppers will look to improve their record against Lindenwood next weekend. St. Edward's and Lindenwood will square off Saturday at noon for a doubleheader from Lucian-Hamilton Field in the first of four games next weekend. All games will provide live video and stats on the Hilltopper Athletic Website.