AUSTIN, Texas – ROMEO CORTINA gave the seniors of St. Edward's Baseball a special gift on Saturday as he hit the game-tying and game-winning home runs in a, 7-6, 11-inning, walk-off victory over Newman. The win came on Senior Day in the regular-season finale, and gave the Hilltoppers a three-game sweep over the Jets.
 
Cortina went 3-for-6 overall with two runs and three RBI. He now has 14 home runs on the year, including his 4-for-4 with four home runs performance against Oklahoma Christian. JOSEPH OLSON also shined on senior day with a home run of his own in a 2-for-6 performance. J.D. ARROWOOD, KEVIN MAYO, and GABLE WHITACRE also turned in multiple-hit statlines as well. As a team, the Hilltoppers amassed 17 hits, and are now hitting a combined .332.
 
On the mound, it was team effort as CAMERON STANTON got the start, but would not factor in the decision. A total of six Hilltoppers came on to pitch with ANDREW BOES earning the win, his second of the year. The pitching staff now boasts a combined earned-run average of 2.43.
 
St. Edward's closes the regular season with a record of 40-10 overall and a mark of 23-4 in the Heartland Conference. A total of four more wins in the postseason will match the program's record for most victories in a single season. Newman closes its season with a record of 28-20 and 14-13 as they are bumped from the last spot in the Heartland Conference Tournament.
 
"This is a pretty neat way to get the sweep. That's something Romeo will remember forever, and hopefully the seniors remember forever too," said head coach Rob Penders. "He's an amazing player, and is a guy who steps up to the plate. When it's crunch time he wants to be the guy, and you saw that today. It's really neat to see, and fun that we got to win on Senior Day."
 
Neither team scored in the first inning as both defenses showed a strong grasp of the fundamentals. However, in the bottom of the second frame, St. Edward's showed its ability to score with two outs. After Newman's defense retired the first two Hilltopper batters, Whitacre put a single through the left side, Turner walked, and Mayo opened up the scoring with a RBI-single to right-center field.
 
Stanton, and the Hilltopper defense protected that lead in the third by retiring the side in order. Then, in the bottom half, St. Edward's offense picked up where it left off. Harris opened up with a single, and Olson quickly brought his shortstop home by hitting a ball over the fence, and into the scoreboard.
 
The home team made it 4-0 in the fifth, but the visitors turned the tables in the sixth. Newman scored six runs on six hits, and a Hilltopper error to take a 6-4 lead.
 
After threatening in the seventh, and eighth innings, St. Edward's found new life in the bottom of the ninth. With two outs again, trailing 6-4, Arrowood singled to right field, and then took second base unchallenged. However, the free base did not matter as ROMEO CORTINA worked a 2-2 count before taking the ball out of the park, over the left-field fence, tying the game at six.
 
In extra innings, the Hilltoppers left the bases loaded in the 10^th, but in the 11^th it was all Cortina again. The redshirt junior came to the plate with one out, and filled the count up before destroying a towering home run into the Strohmeyer Varsity Tennis Courts over the left-field netting, giving St. Edward's the walk-off victory.
 
Coach Penders and his team will now face St. Mary's in the first round of the Heartland Conference Tournament starting on Thursday at Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, Texas. First pitch is schedule for 1 p.m. Live video and stats of the entire tournament will be available through links at GoHilltoppers.com.