ODESSA, Texas – St. Edward's Baseball took down UT-Permian Basin, 8-3 on Saturday afternoon to clinch its first Heartland Conference series sweep of the season.
 
STUART SPRINGER led from the mound with six shutout innings of the work. He only surrendered three hits and struck out six. Springer is now 5-0 in his first season as a Hilltopper, with an earned-run average of 2.45.
 
At the plate, DYLAN WATTS continued on his tear with one run on three hits, including a pair of triples, and two RBI. GABLE WHITACRE also stayed hot after a multi-home run game on Friday. The left fielder went 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. NICK LERICK and KEVIN MAYO cashed in multiple hits for extra bases as well.
 
The Hilltoppers are now 20-7 overall and 4-2 in the Heartland Conference. UT-Permian Basin falls to 8-19 and 1-5.
 
"Again, our starting pitching was outstanding. It has been all weekend," said head coach Rob Penders. "Spring pitched six strong innings, and we got some timely hitting to get the lead against a good pitcher. That allowed our offense to open up. We played our most complete weekend from an offensive and defensive standpoint. With this being a short week due to Easter, we need to carry this type of baseball into the next series."
 
The first three innings proved to be a defensive battle. Both teams collected a pair of hits, but a combination of strikeouts, fly outs, and double plays resulted in zero run production.
 
In the top of the fourth frame, St. Edward's broke out the bats. WESLEY HARRIS led off with a single, and JOSEPH OLSON reached on an error by the Falcon shortstop. With two outs, and two runners on, DYLAN WATTS smacked a triple to the centerfield fence, scoring Olson and Harris to give the Hilltoppers a 2-0 lead. GABLE WHITACRE brought Watts home with an RBI-single, making it 3-0.
 
Dominant pitching and defense kept the Falcons scoreless. Over the next two and a half innings, the Hilltoppers turned two double plays, and Springer struck out three.
 
The visitors added five total runs of insurance in the seventh and eighth, thanks to timely hitting from Whitacre, NICK LERICK, KEVIN MAYO, and MILES WRIGHT.
 
UT-Permian Basin mounted a comeback in the ninth, scoring three runs on three hits to make it 8-3. However, BRYCE DAVIS came on with the bases loaded, and worked the final out to earn his first save of the season.
 
Coach Penders and his team return home for their Heartland Conference home opener at Lucian-Hamilton Field on Thursday. The doubleheader versus Rogers State is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. with a single game scheduled at 11:30 a.m. on Friday. Live stats and video of the series will be available at GoHilltoppers.com.