Baseball | 5/11/2016 11:05:00 PM

Game Notes

BELTON, Texas – St. Edward's Baseball is set to begin its quest for a fourth-straight Heartland Conference Tournament title on Thursday against St. Mary's. The first-round matchup, hosted at Red Murff Field on the campus of Mary Hardin-Baylor, is set to begin at 1 p.m.
 
The Hilltoppers enter the tournament with the No. 1 seed after winning their third-straight regular-season championship. Earlier this season, head coach Rob Penders and his squad swept a three-game series with the Rattlers at home on the hilltop. They currently hold a five-game winning streak against their "Battle of the Saints" rival.
 
A St. Edward's victory means facing the winner of Lubbock Christian vs. Oklahoma Christian. If the Hilltoppers lose, they will face the loser of that game in the double elimination format. Fans can find brief notes on the Hilltoppers below, and follow the tournament online at GoHilltoppers.com with live stats and video.
 
ACROSS THE NATION: St. Edward's currently ranks Top-10 in the nation as a team in 10 statistical categories including: doubles (9), doubles per-game (7), ERA (3), hits per-9 (5), shutouts (10), K-BB ratio (5), triples (8), WHIP (3), win pct. (7), and BB per-9 (9)... ERIC HESTER ranks in the nation's Top-10 in four different categories, including ERA (7), K-BB ratio (2), WHIP (8), and BB per-9 (2)... NATE TURNER is slotted as the sixth-toughest hitter to strike out in all of NCAA DII... CAMERON STANTON is second in the nation with 15 starts.
 
GOING STREAKIN': A total of four Hilltoppers hold active hitting streaks of 10 games, or more... JOSEPH OLSON currently leads the team with a streak of 17 games, while ROMEO CORTINA has recorded a hit in 16 straight, and J.D. ARROWOOD has hit in 15 consecutive... WESLEY HARRIS currently leads all Hilltoppers with a reached-base streak of 30... Arrowood is right behind, having found his way on base in 27 straight games... A total of six Hilltoppers hold reached-base streaks of 10 games or better.
 
HOLY COW!: In a game against Oklahoma Christian earlier this season, ROMEO CORTINA went 4-for-4 with four home runs... he capped off the regular season by going 2-for-2 with two home runs in his final two at-bats against Newman, including the game-tying, and game-winning home runs... Not to be outdone, ERIC HESTER used 47 pitches to retire 21 batters in a seven-inning, complete-game shutout against Panhandle State... Hester faced the minimum number of batters, and struck out four.