WICHITA, Kan. – St. Edward's Baseball Head Coach Rob Penders collected his 400th career win Friday as the Hilltoppers won the series finale, 9-1 over Newman to sweep the three-game set.
 
BLAKE ALEXANDER went 2-for-2 at the plate with two RBI, and GABLE WHITACRE hit his sixth home run of the season. WILLIAM HAIRSTON and ROMEO CORTINA added two hits each. BALLARD INFANTE got the win with seven strikeouts in seven innings of one-run, three-hit baseball.
 
St. Edward's (15-8, 3-0 Heartland) is tied for first place in the conference standings after its opening-weekend sweep of the Jets. Newman (6-12, 0-3 Heartland) has lost six of its last seven games.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Hilltoppers took command early with six runs in the first three innings.
• A sacrifice fly from Alexander in the fifth inning scored Cortina and made it 7-0, SEU.
• Newman broke the shutout with an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth inning.
• Single runs in the sixth and seventh frames set the stage for TANNER LAWSON's two innings of one-hit, scoreless relief.

 
HILLTOPPER NOTES

• St. Edward's pitchers held Newman hitters to a .125 batting average.
• The Hilltoppers have won six straight against the Jets, and are 36-14 in the all-time series.
• BLAKE ALEXANDER has reached base in 16 straight games.
• Head coach Rob Penders has 83 more wins than any other coach in program history.

 
QUOTE BOARD: HEAD COACH ROB PENDERS
"We were able to control the game from the start because our offense scored early, and Ballard (Infante) commanded the strike zone. Our pitching set the tone this weekend, and when you do that it is much easier to relax as a team, and play the game with confidence. Hopefully, we have learned the importance of competing in the strike zone, and how vital that is to play our type of baseball."
 
UP NEXT
St. Edward's opens a three-game Heartland series at home with UA Fort Smith Friday, starting with a doubleheader at 1:30 p.m.  Live stats will be available at GoHilltoppers.com.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Score: St. Edward's 9, Newman 1
Records: St. Edward's (15-8, 3-0 Heartland), Newman (6-12, 0-3 Heartland)
W – Infante (2-1) L – Hersh (1-2)
Attendance: 110
 
For the latest information on the St. Edward's University Baseball team, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @SEUBaseball, or visit us at www.GoHilltoppers.com.