AUSTIN, Texas—St. Edward's baseball bounced back from a 4-0 loss in the day's first game against Arkansas Fort Smith with a dominant 8-2 win over the Lions. The Hilltoppers split today's doubleheader and earned an opportunity to win the series on Sunday.
Game 1: Arkansas Fort Smith 4, St. Edward's 0
Arkansas Fort Smith did most of its damage with a pair of home runs in the first inning. After Brandon Ulmer flied out to deep left field to open the game, Jordon Helm launched a solo blast into the left-field netting off St. Edward's starter
BRENNAN BERDON.
After Berdon walked Michael Brinton, Dakota Peters hit a two-run homer to left field to give Arkansas Fort Smith a 3-0 lead. The Lions added to it in the third when Peters turned a two-out single into a run on a passed ball, a balk, and a wild pitch.
Berdon pitched three innings, surrendering four runs, three earned, on four hits and two walks while striking out three.
NICK DAVIS pitched the last four innings for the Hilltoppers, striking out two, walking two, and surrendering no hits.
TREVOR SEBEK,
CONNOR COX,
DAVIS DREWEK, and
NICHOLAS ANDERSON each had a hit for St. Edward's.
Game 2: St. Edward's 8, Arkansas Fort Smith 2
JAKUB RAYFIELD steadied St. Edward's with a solid performance on the mound, and
KYLER KERLIN woke up the Hilltopper bats with a frozen rope home run to left field, sparking an 8-2 St. Edward's victory.
Arkansas Fort Smith challenged Rayfield early, aggressively going after his first pitch. In the first, an Ulmer leadoff single and Brinton RBI double put the Lions on the scoreboard.
After the Hilltoppers left two runners stranded in the first, Kerlin tied the game in the second with a leadoff home run for his first of the season.
Arkansas Fort Smith lost control of the game when starter Riley Lowry lost control on the mound, walking Cox and hitting
TY MURRAY to set up
DIEGO SOLIS's RBI double to right-center. The Lions went to the bullpen, replacing Lowry with Luke Davenport, and Kerlin greeted him with an RBI sacrifice bunt to extend the lead.
After Davenport walked Drewek,
DILLON FLORES launched the ball as deep as you can hit it to right-center without going over for a two-RBI standup double and the 5-1 lead. Peters gave Arkansas Fort Smith some life with a leadoff home run in the fourth, but Rayfield quickly shut down any momentum by retiring the next three hitters in order.
The Hilltoppers added to it with Solis's RBI single to left field, scoring Sebek, who led off with a single through the left side. Drewek hit an RBI single in the sixth, and Flores added his third RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly to center field for the 8-2 lead.
Rayfield got stronger on the mound as the game wore on. He worked efficiently through his pitches and retired the final six hitters in order to pick up his fifth win of the season. Rayfield went all seven innings with four strikeouts, no walks, and five hits surrendered.
Sebek and Solis each hit 2-for-3. Sebek scored a run, and Solis scored two RBIs and two runs. Figueroa, Cox, Kerlin, Davis, and Flores each had a hit.
St. Edward's improves to 13-15 with a 13-14 conference record. The Hilltoppers will have an opportunity to win the series and climb back to .500 in Lone Star Conference play tomorrow at 1:00 p.m.
