LUBBOCK, Texas — St. Edward's struck first and spent the rest of the night locked in a pitcher's duel, but Lubbock Christian delivered the final swing in the 10th inning, handing the Hilltoppers a 2-1 extra-innings loss to open the four-game Lone Star Conference series Friday night at Hays Field.

The Hilltoppers manufactured their lone run in the opening frame, setting the tone early with disciplined at-bats. BEN MERRIMAN worked a leadoff walk, CONNOR COX followed with another free pass, and a perfectly placed sacrifice bunt moved both into scoring position. DAVID RIPPLE cashed it in with a groundout to give St. Edward's the early lead. 

From there, the game settled into a rhythm defined by arms and missed opportunities. JACOB GLAZENER was sharp on the mound, navigating traffic across 6.1 innings while allowing just one run and stranding multiple Chaps threats.

Lubbock Christian scattered hits throughout the middle innings but couldn't break through, as the Hilltoppers turned two double plays and consistently pitched out of trouble.

St. Edward's had chances to add on but couldn't find the timely hit. The Hilltoppers put runners on in several innings, including a second-and-third opportunity in the second and another two-on situation in the sixth, but a pair of rally-killing double plays kept the lead at a single run.

Lubbock Christian finally broke through in the seventh. A pair of walks and a wild pitch set the stage before Jorge De Los Santos delivered a shallow RBI single to tie the game at 1-1, though the Hilltoppers limited the damage with a key double play to keep it even.

The game remained deadlocked into extras, where St. Edward's threatened in the 10th. TREVOR SEBEK led off with a single and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and groundout, putting the go-ahead run 90 feet away. But LCU escaped the jam, inducing a fielder's choice to end the inning and preserve the tie.

In the bottom half, the Chaps capitalized. A leadoff single and sacrifice bunt moved the winning run into scoring position, and after an intentional walk and another wild pitch pushed the runner to third, Hudson Grace chopped an infield single that turned into the walk-off run following a throwing error, ending the contest at 2-1.

St. Edward's was held to four hits on the night, with Sebek leading the way with two. Cox reached base four times via walks as the Hilltoppers showed patience but couldn't convert in key moments, leaving eight runners on base and striking out 10 times.

The Hilltoppers' pitching staff combined to allow just one earned run across 10 innings, but Lubbock Christian's late execution proved to be the difference in a tightly contested series opener.