AUSTIN, Texas – St. Edward's left the tying and game-winning runs stranded in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh of a 7-6 loss to Eastern New Mexico in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader. 
 
Eastern New Mexico plated four runs to open the game, finding gaps through the infield on the ground early, then bombs late. After Tucker Gideon flied out to right field, Demetrio Archuleta ripped the ball down the third-base line for a stand-up double, and Willie Ponce drove him in with a single up the middle, just past KYLER KERLIN's outstretched glove. 
 
St. Edward's starting pitcher BRENNAN BERDON recovered to catch Luciano Terilli looking on a slider but surrendered back-to-back hits. Cooper Hamilton drove in Ponce from second with a frozen rope to right-center, then Beau Preston pulled a two-run blast just inside the left-field foul pole for the 4-0 lead. 
 
The Hilltoppers broke through with five runs in the bottom of the second, loading the bases before Eastern New Mexico recorded one out. NICHOLAS ANDERSON led off with a line-drive single to left field, then advanced on a balk. TY MURRAY followed with a single to shallow center, and WESTON SYMES walked to load the bases. 
 
DIEGO SOLIS cut the deficit in half with a two-RBI single to left field, then KYLER KERLIN executed a sacrifice bunt to move both runners over. After TREVOR SEBEK went down looking, DAVIS DREWEK pulled a two-RBI double down the right-field line to tie the game, and a throwing error on a DILLON FLORES grounder to third scored Davis from second for the 5-4 Hilltopper lead.
 
Eastern New Mexico turned to its bullpen to start the third, replacing starter Adrian Rubio with Griffin Almond, and St. Edward's greeted him with two hits and another run. TY MURRAY hit a one-out single up the middle, Symes moved him over on a sacrifice bunt, and Solis drove in his third RBI of the day with an opposite-field double down the right-field line for the 6-4 lead. 
 
After Berdon settled in for three scoreless innings, Eastern New Mexico retook the lead in the fifth, with its first three hitters reaching to load the bases. 
 
Gideon drew a leadoff walk, Archuleta singled to right, and Berdon hit Ponce and Daniel Pruitt back-to-back to plate one run. Hamilton followed with a two-RBI single through the right side to put Eastern New Mexico up 7-6, ending Berdon's afternoon with AUSTIN ESSEX replacing him to get out of the inning. 
 
Essex went three innings, striking out three with a walk and no runs allowed, but St. Edward's bats left a runner stranded in the fifth and went down in order in the sixth. 
 
Flores drew a leadoff walk in the seventh, but CONNOR COX grounded into a double play. St. Edward's rallied with an Anderson single, and reliever Terilli hit Murray, then advanced both on a passed ball, but Symes's drive to center field was caught to end the game. 
 
Anderson, Murray, and Solis each had two hits for the Hilltoppers. Drewek was 1-for-4 with two RBI. Berdon went four innings with seven runs off eight hits with four strikeouts in the loss.