LAREDO, Texas – St. Edward's Baseball scored 26 runs on 26 hits, including 11 doubles and four home runs, on its way to a doubleheader sweep of Texas A&M-International on Friday evening. The Hilltoppers took game one, 13-0, and game two, 13-8.
 
ROMEO CORTINA flexed his muscle at the plate with two home runs, and finished the day batting .444 with two runs and six RBI. Right behind Cortina was J.D. ARROWOOD with a home run of his own. Arrowood led the Hilltopers, batting .571 with five runs and two RBI on a pair of doubles. WESLEY HARRIS also scored five runs while batting .556 on five hits, including three doubles. Harris's three two-baggers ties him for the most doubles in a single game in St. Edward's history.
 
On the mound, ERIC HESTER started game one, and CAMERON STANTON started game two. Both pitchers got credited with a win as Hester moves to 8-2 and Stanton improves to 9-1.
 
The Hilltoppers are now 36-10 overall, and 19-4 in the Heartland Conference with a two-game lead for first place. Texas A&M-International falls to 16-28 and 7-16.
 
"We took care of business today by doing the little things well," said head coach Rob Penders. "We took walks, put the ball in play with two strikes, got bunts down, and advanced the base runners without bunts. We drove the ball with authority in hitters counts, and on top of that, our starters threw great. Our bullpen also backed them up. Uncharacteristically, we made some errors that gave them some extra outs in game two, but we will take wins on the road any way we can get them."
 
Game One: St. Edward's 13 Texas A&M-International 0
 
The doubleheader opener was all Hilltoppers. St. Edward's took a five-run lead in the second inning and didn't look back. Hits from GABLE WHITACRE, JOSEPH OLSON, Arrowood, and Cortina helped the visitors to their early advantage.
 
A run in the third, and Arrowood's solo shot in the fourth put the Hilltoppers up 7-0. Then, six more runs in the fifth made the final tally. KEVIN MAYO, NATE TURNER, Arrowood, Olson, and Cortina all scored for St. Edward's in the fifth frame.
 
Game Two: St. Edward's 13 Texas A&M-International 8
 
In the night cap, St. Edward's found itself in a rare deficit. After Cortina drove in Arrowood to make it 1-0 in the top of the first, TAMU-International scored three runs in the bottom half to make it 3-1.
 
The Hilltoppers responded with a run in the second off the bat of Turner. Then, in the third, St. Edward's took the lead for good. Olson led off the inning with a solo home run, and Arrowood, DYLAN WATTS, and Whitacre all crossed the plate to make 6-3.
 
In the top of the fourth, the Hilltoppers added four runs of insurance on two hits. All of those runs would be needed.
 
The Dustdevils scored one in the fourth, and another in the fifth to make it 11-5. In the sixth they plated three more to make it 11-8. However, two runs in the seventh for St. Edward's sealed the deal.
 
Coach Penders and his squad will look to sweep the series on Saturday with a single, nine-inning game starting at 1 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at GoHilltoppers.com.