ODESSA, Texas – St. Edward's Baseball produced the perfect combination of pitching and power to sweep its doubleheader against UT-Permian Basin on Friday afternoon. The Hilltoppers averaged more than one run and one strikeout an inning as they took game one 7-2, and game two 12-3.
J.D. ARROWOOD celebrated his birthday with six hits in eight at-bats, and scored four runs while driving in three. The senior came a single short of hitting for the cycle in game two.
DYLAN WATTS also had a big day, hitting two home runs and two doubles with three runs scored and six RBI. Watts came close to hitting for the cycle as well, coming one triple shy.
GABLE WHITACRE,
WESLEY HARRIS, and
ROMEO CORTINA all went long for the Hilltoppers as well.
On the mound,
COLLIN SHERROD and
CAMERON STANTON both earned victories. The two starters combined to strike out 13 batters, and surrendered only five runs on 11 hits in 14 combined innings of work. St. Edward's pitching battery held the Falcons hitters to an average of .193.
The Hilltoppers are now 19-7 overall and 3-2 in conference play. UT-Permian Basin falls to 8-18 and 1-4.
"Our starting pitching was outstanding in both games, on a day where offense looked to reign supreme," said head coach Rob Penders. "Collin (Sherrod) and Cam (Stanton) got ahead in counts and made key pitches in pressure situations. Our hitters followed suit by hitting in the clutch and keeping pressure on the defense all day. Hopefully we can continue following the example we set today in tomorrow's single game."
Game One: St. Edward's 7 UT-Permian Basin 2 Following last week's rough start, St. Edward's came out firing on all cylinders. The Hilltoppers threatened in the first, and then came through in the second to earn a one-run lead. Whitacre doubled to left field, and
KELSIE DANCER walked. Whitacre scored from third on a single up the middle by Harris.
The Falcons hit back-to-back, two-out, solo home runs in the fourth frame to take a 2-1 lead.
However, the hit parade did not stop there. In the top of the fifth, Harris led off with a solo home run of his own to tie the game at two. Then, Watts blew the game wide open. With Cortina on first and Arrowood on second, Watts took the ball over the fence in left-center field to make it 5-2.
Sherrod and the Hilltopper defense shut the Falcons down in the bottom half, and the bats added insurance in the top of the sixth. A throwing error scored
KEVIN MAYO, and Olson singled up to middle to bring home Harris, moving the advantage to 7-2.
A trio of strikeouts in the sixth and seventh capped off a complete-game performance for Sherrod. He gave up just two runs on three hits while striking out seven batters. The offense combined for 12 hits with four going for extra bases.
Game Two: St. Edward's 12 UT-Permian Basin 3 UT-Permian Basin gave the Hilltoppers all they could handle in the early going. St. Edward's used Falcon miscues to score three runs in the first. Harris scored on a balk. Arrowood reached on a fielder's choice. Cortina walked, and Watts doubled to score both.
The Falcons struck right back in the bottom half with a run of their own, and also scored two more in the fourth.
However, Cortina drove in Arrowood in the third to make it 4-1, and Whitacre's solo shot in the fourth made it 5-1 before UTPB could answer. Watts made it 6-3 in the sixth, coming home on a wild pitch after hitting a leadoff double to center field.
Coach Pender's poured on the steam in the late innings yet again. Arrowood hit a two-run home run in the seventh, and drove in Olson in the ninth. Cortina, Watts, and Whitacre hit back-to-back-to-back long balls in the ninth as well to make it a landslide.
As a staff, Hilltopper pitchers lead the country in strikeouts. The offense continues to rank top-15 in the nation in home runs (14th), doubles (9th), and triples (2nd).
St. Edward's looks to complete its first three-game sweep of Heartland Conference play on Saturday, facing the Falcons in a single nine-inning affair at 1 p.m. Live stats will be available at GoHilltoppers.com.
