AUSTIN, Texas — CONNOR COX gave Senior Day its signature moment Sunday afternoon, launching a 2-0 pitch the other way for a go-ahead solo home run that lifted St. Edward's to a 6-5 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville and completed the season sweep of the Javelinas.
JACOB GLAZENER (W, 2-0) turned in another steady start, working 7.1 innings with as many strikeouts (five) as combined hits (three) and walks (two). Of the two runs charged during his outing, only one was earned.
Glazener retired the side in order in the first, but Texas A&M-Kingsville scratched across an unearned run in the second after a pair of Hilltopper errors extended the inning. The senior right-hander helped limit the damage, teaming with
AUSTIN PAGE to throw out Jayden Martinez trying to steal home and end the threat.
St. Edward's answered in the third, when
BEN MERRIMAN drew a leadoff walk and came around to score on
KADE NATHMAN's two-out, two-strike single back through the middle to tie the game at 1-1.
The game stayed tight through the middle innings as both teams traded clean defensive frames, until Cox broke the deadlock in the fifth. Leading off the inning, the senior first baseman stayed on a 2-0 offering and drove it over the wall in left for his third home run of the series, putting the Hilltoppers in front 2-1.
Page came up with another momentum-swinging defensive play in the seventh. After Jayden Martinez singled with one out, the Hilltopper catcher cut him down trying to steal second. The throw softened the blow of Cash Benavides' ensuing double, and St. Edward's escaped the inning still clinging to its one-run lead. It was one of three runners the Hilltoppers erased on the bases Sunday.
Then came the knockout punch.
Texas A&M-Kingsville turned to its bullpen with one out in the bottom of the seventh, and
JACOB BULCROFT and senior
DYLAN TATE greeted the new arm with back-to-back two-run homers to deep left, striking the retired number signage and clearing the scoreboard. Bulcroft's blast scored Merriman after a leadoff walk, and Tate followed two batters later by driving one out to push the lead to 6-1.
The Javelinas made one final push in the eighth. After St. Edward's went to the bullpen, Braden Duff delivered an RBI single, and two more runs came home on an overthrow during a stolen base attempt, trimming the deficit to 6-4. Page responded again by throwing out Nick Reyes, attempting to take second, ending the inning before the rally could grow further.
Senior
LIAM MILLER handled the ninth and nearly slammed the door without drama, striking out the first two hitters he faced. Landon Salinas kept Texas A&M-Kingsville alive with a solo homer, and after a walk brought the tying run aboard, Miller got Damian Carreon to fly out to right for his first save of the season.
Cox finished 2-for-3 with the go-ahead homer, two walks, including one on an intentional free pass. Bulcroft went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored, while Tate added two hits and two RBI. Cox wrapped up his final regular-season weekend at Lucian-Hamilton Field by hitting 8-for-12 (.667) with three home runs, seven RBI, six walks, four runs scored, and a 1.500 slugging percentage over the series.
TREVOR SEBEK, another four-year starter for the Hilltoppers, hit .455 in the four-game sweep with two RBI and two runs scored.
As a staff, St. Edward's pitchers posted a 1.13 ERA in the series and held the Javelinas to a .179 batting average. With the win, the Hilltoppers improved to 28-17 and remain in position to host an LSC First Round playoff series depending on next weekend's final regular-season series at UT Dallas.
