2018 Heartland Baseball Championship Central Page

CLEBURNE, Texas – After a wild finish in league play, the St. Edward's baseball team is named Co-Heartland Conference regular season champions and holds the No. 1 seed entering the league's tournament. The Hilltoppers will jump-start the double elimination tournament against fourth seeded UAFS May 10 at The Depot at Cleburne Station.   

St. Mary's shares a piece of the regular season title but will be the No. 2 seed in the tournament due to dropping the Heartland four-game series, 3-1 vs. SEU. They will face No. 3 seed Lubbock Christian who completed the four-game sweep vs. UAFS to close the season.
 
The Hilltoppers turned things around by winning its final four Heartland series, and 13 of their final 15 games to go from the outside looking in, to sitting atop the league standings. SEU closed the regular season with a 30-19 record to mark head coach Rob Penders' seventh consecutive season with 30 or more wins, and an 18-10 conference record.    
 
"The turning point of the season for us was when we went to UAFS and lost three out of four," said coach Penders. "Even though we lost that weekend, it was the first series that we played loose and relaxed. Now, it doesn't matter who we play in the postseason. It's just the fact that we are there and have the opportunity."  
 
The Hilltoppers look to keep their streak going in their 9^th appearance in the Heartland Conference Tournament as they enter with five straight tournament championship titles, a 15-1 record since 2013, and are riding a ten-game winning streak, including 3-0 outings in 2015, '16, and '17. Although UAFS (32-17, 17-10) was the only team in the conference to defeat SEU in a four-game set this year, the Hilltoppers have won five in a row vs. the Lions in the tournament and are 5-1 all-time head-to-head.
 
"The series at their place [UAFS] was a long time ago," said Penders. "We are a much different team."
 
SEU has an 18-7 all-time Heartland Conference Tournament record and are 13-3 vs. the 2018 field (7-2 vs. St. Mary's, 1-0 vs. Lubbock Christian, 5-1 vs. UAFS). St. Edward's will have a total of four players who was on the Heartland Conference 2017 all-tournament team including TROY ANDERSON, WILLIAM HAIRSTON, TANNER LAWSON, and the tournament MVP, TJ GISELBACH.
 
SEU HEARTLAND CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT HISTORY AND NOTES:
 Hilltoppers' Titles: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
All-Time SEU Record in HC Tournament: 18-13
 
• St. Edward's is making its 9^th appearance in the Heartland Conference Tournament.
• The Hilltoppers are five-time champions of the Heartland Conference Tournament and has done so in five consecutive season dating back to 2013.
• Against the 2018 field, SEU is 13-3 in the HC Tournament (7-2 vs. St. Mary's, 1-0 vs. Lubbock Christian, 5-1 vs. UAFS).
• SEU boasts a 15-1 record since 2013 and are 9-0 from 2015-2017.
• Last year, the Hilltoppers swept through the tournament by defeating No. 9 Lubbock Christian (12-8) and UAFS twice, 10-5 and 3-1.
 
GAME STORY LINES
• SEU is currently on a five-game winning streak against UAFS in the conference tournament.
• The Hilltoppers recorded a team Heartland Conference Tournament high of 22 runs vs. the Lions in 2015.
• Despite sweeping the Lions in last year's tournament, Thursday's game vs. UAFS will be SEU's first postseason meeting after falling 15-12 in the NCAA Division II South Central Region Tournament.
• UAFS was swept in their series finale vs. Lubbock Christian on ESPN 3 and will enter the tournament with a 32-17 overall record and 17-10 conference record.
• SEU leads the league with a .308 batting average, 359 strikeouts and a league-low opponent batting average of .241, while UAFS leads the conference with 324 runs scored and ranks third with a 4.16 ERA.