AUSTIN, Texas – ERIC HESTER gave St. Edward's Baseball another quality start on Sunday, but the Hilltopper offense could not produce as they fell to LIU Post, 5-1. The loss results in a 2-2 split of the weekend series.
 
Sunday's series finale was originally scheduled at Lucian-Hamilton Field, but a watering system malfunction forced the contest to be moved north to Tornado Field on the campus of Concordia University. The change did not affect St. Edward's starting pitcher one bit. Hester pitched seven innings of two-run baseball, and struck out 11 batters in the process. As a team, the Hilltoppers struck out 16, which ties them for second place in program history for strikeouts in a single game.
 
At the plate, NICK LERICK was the home team's lone bright spot. The senior went 3-for-3 with a walk, a run, and a RBI. JOSEPH OLSON, DYLAN WATTS, and NATE TURNER all collected hits for the Hilltoppers as well.
 
The series split moves St. Edward's to 12-5 overall. LIU Post gets its first two wins of the year, and improves to 2-6.
 
"We're not doing the fundamentals right. That's what I told the guys," said head coach Rob Penders. "We're not communicating on defense, and offensively we're not sticking with the same approach. That's why we've hit some bumpiness throughout the year, offensively and defensively when we get into tight games. We've had some issues, and we need to clean that up. We need to really pay attention to the small details. Then these games will get easier for us."
 
LIU Post got on the board first in the opening frame, scoring two runs on four hits. A single and a double for the opposition, bracketed by Hester strikeouts, caused the damage. However, the Hilltoppers' hurler was able to stop the bleeding by striking out the side.
 
Hester stayed hot on the mound. He fanned the first two batters in the top of the second to open the game with five-consecutive strikeouts. LIU Post's two-out single did no damage.
 
In the bottom of the second, St. Edward's struck back. On a 0-1 count, Lerick took the next pitch 325 feet over the left-field fence. A two-out single for DYLAN WATTS turned into a two-base play as the shortstop threw the ball over first base into the visiting dugout. Watts advanced to third on a passed ball, but the inning would close with the score still 2-1.
 
A pair of strikeouts for Hester in the third, and two more in the fourth, kept the Pioneers off the board. St. Edward's also remained scoreless despite a trio of hits.
 
Defense continued to shine in the fifth and sixth innings. Watts barehanded a bunt attempt, and made the throw to first. Harris followed up with a diving play at shortstop, complete with a pinpoint throw to close out the top of the fifth. Then, in the top of six, ROMEO CORTINA turned a double play from right field after a Pioneer runner failed to tag up on the catch.
 
The seventh and eighth innings went scoreless as well, but the top of the ninth was much different. A pair of errors by the Hilltoppers, combined with three Pioneer hits, gave the visitors three runs of insurance. That would be all they needed.
 
CAM HATCH provided two innings of relief, and was only charged with one earned run, due to the errors. He also struck out five to help in the historic effort.
 
Coach Penders and his squad continue their home stand on Saturday and Sunday with a pair of doubleheaders against Philadelphia Sciences. First pitch on Saturday is scheduled for 12 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at GoHilltoppers.com. Fans are also encouraged to follow the team on Twitter at @SEUBaseball, and on Facebook by searching St. Edward's University Baseball Team.