SAN ANTONIO – St. Edward's opened the baseball Battle of the Saints series against St. Mary's with a pair of wins, sweeping the doubleheader by going yard on their opponent's field.
Game 1: St. Edward's 10, St. Mary's 6
LUKE JOHNSON hit a grand slam in the top of the fifth inning to engineer and cap off a St. Edward's comeback, defeating St. Mary's 10-6.
St. Mary's got two quick hits off St. Edward's starter, WESLEY GAFFORD, scoring a run in the first with an RBI double down the left-field line from Brandon Broughton to score Clay Bradford, who reached on a single up the middle.
The Rattlers added four more runs in the second. St. Mary's opened the inning with three consecutive singles, scoring a run on Trey Guajardo's drive through the right side.
Then, a throwing error on a bunt loaded the bases, setting up an RBI single down the right-field line by Jake Mares. Jacob King scored the final run of the inning on a fielder's choice with the out at second for the 5-0 lead.
CULLEN AINSWORTH put St. Edward's on the scoreboard with an RBI double to left field, scoring TREVOR SEBEK. Johnson followed with a two-RBI double to left center, scoring LANCE LITTLE and Ainsworth.
St. Mary's got a run back in the third, sparked by a leadoff double from Broughton. Easton Parrish moved him over with a fly out to center, then Rudy Solis drove him in with a groundout to shortstop.
St. Edward's loaded the bases in the fifth with two walks and a single from Ainsworth, and then Johnson cleared the bases with a shot launched over the left-field fence to give St. Edward's the lead. The Hilltoppers loaded the bases again with back-to-back walks, then a WESTON SYMES single off a bunt. A pitch hit Sebek to score Graham, then CONNOR COX hit a sacrifice fly to score MATTHEW GILES, and after Little singled to load the bases again, Ainsworth hit a sacrifice fly for the 10-6 lead.
Gafford retired the side in order in the fifth, then NICOLAS DAVIS replaced him to start the sixth and retired the next six hitters in order.
Game 2: St. Edward's 8, St. Mary's 6
LANCE LITTLE hit two home runs, driving in four runs, to lead St. Edward's in an 8-6 win over St. Mary's to sweep the doubleheader.
St. Mary's struck first with three consecutive singles after a leadoff strikeout, scoring on a Broughton RBI single up the middle to score King.
Back-to-back walks to JOSH GRAHAM and MATTHEW GILES to start the third cost the St. Mary's starting pitcher John Curtis. WESTON SYMES moved both over with a sacrifice bunt, then Sebek walked to load the bases. A fielding error scored St. Edward's first run, and then Little hit his first home run of the day with a three-run blast to right-center for the 4-1 lead.
St. Mary's Broughton hit a two-RBI triple to center field to score Bradford and Mares, closing the gap to 4-3. Little answered in the top of the sixth with a leadoff opposite-field home run. Later in the inning, Josh Grahm drove in Ainsworth with an RBI single up the middle, and a pitch hit Symes with the bases load for the 7-3 lead.
RYAN FEDDERSEN added another run in the seventh with an infield single to score Little.
Bradford made the game close with a three-run blast off relief pitcher AUSTIN ESSEX in the seventh. However, KEVIN SKWERES replaced him and retired the next three hitters in order, striking out the final two to earn his third save.
Short started and went six innings for St. Edward's, striking out five while surrendering three runs, ten hits, and two walks for his eighth win. Little hit 3-for-4 with two home runs, four RBIs, and three runs scored. Ainsworth was 2-for-4 with a run scored. Feddersen and Graham each had one hit, with Graham driving in a run and scoring and Feddersen driving in a run.
St. Edward's improves to 29-6 with a 27-6 conference record after the wins. The Battle of the Saints series will resume tomorrow with a single game at 4:00 p.m.
