CLEBURNE, Texas – St. Edward's baseball became the first team in Heartland Conference history to win a tournament championship as the No. 4 seed with its 3-1 win Saturday over Arkansas Fort Smith.
 
TANNER LAWSON (3-2) tossed a gem for the Hilltoppers and earned all-tournament honors with 7.2 innings of one-run, four-hit baseball. The sophomore struck out three with no walks. JACOB VASQUEZ came on for his third save of the season, and joined Lawson on the all-tournament team as an infielder.
 
TJ GISELBACH went 2-for-4 with an RBI and earned Tournament MVP honors. GABLE WHITACRE earned all-tournament honors as he finished 1-for-3 with one run and one RBI with a double. TROY ANDERSON, ROMEO CORTINA, and WILLIAM HAIRSTON rounded out St. Edward's seven all-tournament selections.
 
The Hilltoppers (33-18) claim the Heartland's automatic berth in the NCAA South Central Regional tournament. UA Fort Smith (33-20), currently sixth in the regional rankings, will await the NCAA Tournament selection show Sunday evening at 9 p.m. to see if its season will continue.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Lawson shut the Lions down through three innings as he carried a no-hitter into the fourth inning.
• The Lions' Logan Allen hit a leadoff, solo home run to give UAFS a 1-0 lead.
• Vasquez led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a single to left field, sparking a Hilltopper rally.
• Whitacre followed with a one-out, RBI double to tie the game, 1-1.
• Giselbach gave St. Edward's the lead with a RBI single to left field.
• Zach Schindler drove in Alexander as insurance in the eighth inning.
• Vasquez moved from second base to the mound and worked the final four outs.

 
HILLTOPPER NOTES

• St. Edward's has won eight straight games and 11 of its last 12.
• The Hilltoppers are 26-8 in the all-time series against the Lions and 4-1 this season.
• Giselbach is St. Edward's fifth-consecutive Heartland Tournament MVP.
• Cortina has reached base safely in 33-straight games, and HUNTER COURSON has reached in 21 straight.
• Whitacre and Giselbach have hitting streaks of 14 and 12, respectively.

 
QUOTE BOARD: HEAD COACH ROB PENDERS
"Tanner was outstanding today. We couldn't have done what we did without him. Throughout the tournament, our starting pitching wasn't outstanding for us. Tanner came out today and did what we needed him to do. He was just simply outstanding."
 
UP NEXT
St. Edward's awaits the NCAA Tournament selection show scheduled Sunday at 9 p.m. to find out its seed and where the South Central Regional will be hosted. Fans can check GoHilltoppers.com and @SEUBaseball on social media for additional updates.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Score: St. Edward's 3, UA Fort Smith 1
Records: St. Edward's (33-18), UA Fort Smith (33-20)
W – Lawson (3-2) L – Nelson (6-7)
Attendance: 211
 
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.