SAUGET, Ill. – The Wartburg College baseball team played a pair of nonconference games Saturday, March 6 at GCS Credit Union Ballpark, falling to Webster University 5-3 prior to a 7-2 win over Benedictine University.
The Knights improve their record to 2-2 overall.
Webster 5, Wartburg 3
The Worlocks, ranked No. 14 in the latest D3baseball.com poll, strung together a five-run sixth inning to down the Knights.
Webster ace starting pitcher Matt Mulhearn earned the win on the mound, tallying seven strikeouts while allowing one earned run in six innings pitched.
Wartburg's
Dylan Gotto suffered the loss despite a solid pitching performance. He notched six strikeouts in seven innings, allowing three earned runs.
The Knights took a 1-0 lead in the first inning off a sacrifice fly from
Ethan Hayes, scoring
Max Goodhue, who came around to score after a base on balls.
All of the Worlocks' offense came during the sixth inning, scoring five runs off four hits. The eventual game-winning fourth run for Webster was scored off a Wartburg throwing error.
Joey Ciero came in to relieve Gotto, pitching a scoreless eighth inning to set up a possible rally with the Knights trailing 5-1.
During their last chance for a comeback, the Knights put together a two-out rally, starting with a
Keaton Gray single.
Ben DeKruyf reached on a walk prior and came around to score after
JoJo McNair's game-high third hit of the game. Goodhue walked with the bases loaded to score Gray, but Webster forced
Parker Ridge to ground into a fielder's choice for the final out to claim the 5-3 victory.
Wartburg 7, Benedictine 2
Darren Kilpatrick turned in another solid pitching performance for the Knights during game two on the day, earning the win while allowing two earned runs in eight innings pitched.
The Knights tallied 11 base hits on seven runs scored, scoring three through the third inning and adding four later, including a three-run seventh inning.
Hayes, DeKruyf, and
Bryce Butler each recorded multi-hit performances, including a 3-for-4 game for Butler.
William Armstrong and DeKruyf each registered two runs batted in.
An RBI single from DeKruyf in the third inning scored Goodhue, the eventual game-winning run as the Knights led 3-0. The seventh inning included another RBI single from DeKruyf followed by the same from Butler to gain the 7-2 advantage.
Up Next
Wartburg returns to action next weekend, March 13-14, for a pair of games at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Ill.
