AUSTIN, Texas – St. Edward's senior GABLE WHITACRE drove in seven runs Friday as the Hilltopper baseball team split its doubleheader with Oklahoma Christian, 4-6, 8-3.
 
Whitacre finished the day going 4-for-9 at the plate with two doubles and his ninth home run of the season. ROMEO CORTINA went 5-of-7, scoring four runs on two doubles while driving in one.
 
On the mound, STUART SPRINGER collected his sixth win of the year to improve to 6-0. The Corpus Christi, Texas, native started game two and threw eight innings of two-run, six-hit baseball with eight strikeouts.
 
St. Edward's (20-12, 7-4 Heartland) is now fourth in the conference standings. Oklahoma Christian (18-15, 5-6 Heartland) notched its first win in program history at Lucian-Hamilton field.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game One (Oklahoma Christian 6, St. Edward's 4)
W – Rentz (6-2) L – Moralez (0-1)

• The Eagles took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning thanks to a pair of Hilltopper errors.
• Cortina and Whitacre hit back-to-back doubles in the bottom of the first inning to give SEU a 3-2 lead.
• Oklahoma Christian responded with four unanswered runs, including a three-run seventh, to pull ahead 6-3.
• Whitacre's RBI single in the bottom of the seventh made the final tally.

 
Game Two (St. Edward's 8, Oklahoma Christian 3)
W – Springer (6-0) L – McAlister (1-3)

• St. Edward's used a RBI double from Whitacre and an OC error to take a 3-0 lead in the opening frame.
• Oklahoma Christian got on the board in the second with a run to make it 3-1.
• Whitacre jacked a three-run home run in the fifth to give the Hilltoppers a commanding, 6-1 lead.
• Single runs in the sixth and ninth innings were not enough for the Eagles as SEU added two insurance runs in the eighth frame.

 
HILLTOPPER NOTES

• St. Edward's is 15-10 in the all-time series with Oklahoma Christian.
• Cortina is riding a 14-game hitting streak.
• Whitacre leads the Heartland Conference in home runs, doubles, slugging percentage, and RBI.

 
QUOTE BOARD: HEAD COACH ROB PENDERS
"This is where it's been for us the last couple of weeks. One game we play good, and the next game we don't, or vice versa. We need to stop doing that. We need to have a consistent effort. Usually that starts on the bump and that's where we've been a little more inconsistent than other places."
 
UP NEXT
St. Edward's closes the series against Oklahoma Christian Saturday with a single game at 11 a.m. Live stats and video will be available at GoHilltoppers.com.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Score: St. Edward's 4-8, Oklahoma Christian 6-3
Records: St. Edward's (20-12, 7-4 Heartland), Oklahoma Christian (18-15, 5-6 Heartland)
Attendance: 278
 
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.