The St. Edward’s baseball team picked a come-from-behind victory over Incarnate Word on Saturday in resumed action from late Friday, and then emphatically won the third game of the series at Lucian-Hamilton Field by a score of 15-5.
With the two wins, St. Edward’s (15-12, 13-10 HC) dealt Incarnate Word (18-7, 18-5 HC) just their second series loss of the season.
The Hilltoppers came into Saturday trailing 7-5 in the top of the seventh against Incarnate Word with the Cardinals threatening with the bases loaded and only one out. But the Hilltoppers quickly turned things around after a diving grab by center fielder Dylan Schuch. The Hilltoppers then caught the Cardinal runner leaving early from third base to end the inning and negate what would have been a run on a sacrifice fly.
The Hilltoppers carried the momentum swing into the bottom of the seventh inning, scoring five runs off of just one hit and one error to take a 10-7 lead.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Hilltoppers hung on despite surrendering two runs. The Cardinals stranded two runners on base to end the inning and the game.
Hilltopper relief pitcher Jonathan Burns (5-1), who leads the team in victories, was rewarded with the win after 3.0 innings of work. Cardinal relief pitcher Alfredo Caballero (1-1) was handed the loss.
First baseman Dexter Moreno went 2-for-4 in the game and scored three runs. Designated hitter Adam Shank also went 2-for-4 and added two RBIs. Left fielder Daniel Rufini also picked up two hits and two RBIs in the game for the Hilltoppers.
In the final game of the series, the Hilltoppers took the lead early and stayed ahead of the Cardinals throughout. In the first inning, the Hilltoppers immediately scored two runs in the bottom of the first thanks to a hit, two Cardinal errors and a catcher’s interference call.
The Hilltoppers added another run on a sacrifice fly by shortstop Tim Redden in the third inning, and added two more runs in the fourth inning on a two-run blast by Moreno, his second home run of the season. Redden went on to help pad the Hilltopper lead in the fifth inning by scoring on a wild pitch.
The Cardinals put a run on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth and two runs apiece in the fourth and fifth innings against Hilltopper starting pitcher Jeff Rohrbach. Rohrbach, however, was not deterred, and neither were the Hilltopper hitters.
With the lead cut to just one run in the seventh inning, the Hilltoppers began to run away with the game. A single by Dylan Schuch drove home the first run of the inning and Adam Shank drew a bases-loaded walk to drive home the second run. The Hilltoppers had left runners stranded on base throughout the game, but that was not to be the case this time as Rufini doubled, scoring two runners. Shank scored on a wild pitch for the fifth run of the inning, but it was not over yet. Second baseman Taylor Johnson capped off the inning with a single up the middle, scoring two more runs.
With the Hilltoppers firmly ahead, 13-5, Rohrbach cruised through the eighth inning to let his hitters come to the plate one last time looking for the 10-run rule. They delivered. Rufini’s two-out two-RBI single cut the 3-hour-and-20-minute game short, and the Hilltoppers claimed the win over the team at the top of the Heartland Conference standings.
Rohrbach (3-0) was the winning pitcher in his third complete game of the season. Cardinal starting pitcher Elroy Urbina (1-1) was the losing pitcher after surrendering three runs in 2.1 innings of work.
The Hilltoppers totaled 14 hits in the game. Rufini went 2-for-6 with five RBIs and a run scored in the final game of the series. Schuch was 3-for-4 with three runs scored, a stolen base and an RBI. Moreno’s longball was the only Hilltopper home run of the series and his second of the year. Moreno was also walked three times, twice intentionally, and scored four runs.
The Hilltoppers will now travel to Wichita, Kan. to take on Newman in a four-game series March 19-20. The first pitch of game one is set for 1 p.m.