Photo Gallery vs. Oklahoma Christian

BELTON, Texas – COLLIN SHERROD and the St. Edward's pitching staff surpassed the program record for strikeouts in a single season on Friday afternoon at the Heartland Conference Baseball Tournament, as they took down Oklahoma Christian, 7-2 at Red Murff Field on the campus of Mary Hardin-Baylor. The win puts the Hilltoppers one victory away from a fourth-straight tournament title.
 
After using six pitchers in the first-round game on Thursday, Sherrod gave St. Edward's a much-needed 6.2 innings of quality work. He struck out 10 batters while only giving up two runs on the way to his 10^th win of the season. In relief, VINNY WHITENIGHT and CAM HATCH combined for 2.1 innings of one-hit, shutout baseball to complete the gem.
 
At the plate, J.D. ARROWOOD and GABLE WHITACRE both belted home runs. The duo combined to go 4-for-7 with three runs and a pair of RBI. Arrowood added a double to his line for the day as well. Whitacre swiped a base while ROMEO CORTINA also collected multiple hits on the day. A total of six Hilltoppers scored on 11 hits.
 
St. Edward's is now 42-10 on the season, just three wins away from breaking another program record. The Hilltoppers are also riding an 11-game winning streak, and have won 18 of their last 19 games. Oklahoma Christian falls to 29-21, and drops into the losers bracket with a chance to face the Hilltoppers again on Saturday if they can win.
 
"Obviously it was nice to get on the board first. Any time you're in one of these games, it takes the pressure off," said head coach Rob Penders. "They came right back and got a run, but we put a couple things together in the fourth and fifth. That helped out, and that's what our offense does. We can out-hit you sometimes, and out-slug you other times. We did a little bit of both today, and it's fun to watch."
 
Despite a silent first inning on Thursday, St. Edward's wasted no time in its opening frame on Friday. A one-out single for Olson led to a double for Arrowood, putting runners on second and third with no outs. Cortina followed up with slow-rolling infield single to the shortstop, making it 1-0, Hilltoppers.
 
The Eagles immediately tied it up in the second. Austin Orth reached on a fielder's choice, and then sped from first to home on a RBI-double by Jared Sterling.
 
In the top of the fourth, St. Edward's broke the 1-1 tie. Whitacre laced a single through the left side to lead off the inning, and then stole second base. A one-out single from KEVIN MAYO brought Whitacre home, and Harris put another ball past the shortstop to bring Mayo across the plate.
 
Sherrod took the momentum of a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the fourth frame, and proceeded to strikeout the side. He caught the first two Eagles looking, and capped the inning off by fanning Ben McKenzie.
 
St. Edward's kept the offense rolling in the fifth. Arrowood led off with a home run to the opposite field, and sparked a three-run rally. Cortina and Watts both scored in the inning as the Hilltoppers jumped ahead, 6-1.
 
On defense, the Hilltoppers' ace continued to baffle Oklahoma Christian's hitters. Sherrod struck out three more in the fifth, and fanned another two Eagles in the sixth.
 
A run for OC in the seventh cut St. Edward's lead to four. However, Whitenight fanned the final out with two runners on base, holding the score at 6-2.
 
Whitacre put the icing on the cake with a home run to lead off the ninth. A score of 7-2 would be plenty for the hosts. Hatch closed out the game with a pair of strikeouts in two innings of scoreless work.
 
Coach Penders and the Hilltoppers will now face the winner of Friday's elimination game between Oklahoma Christian and St. Mary's. The championship game will be played at Red Murff Field, starting at noon on Saturday. A second game will be played if necessary in the double elimination format. Fans can come out to the game on the campus of Mary Hardin-Baylor or watch online at GoHilltoppers.com.