ST. LOUIS, MO. – Senior Zach Sedlacek struck out a career-best 11 batters to help the University of Missouri-St. Louis baseball team to a 4-3 win over No. 29 ranked William Jewell on Friday afternoon in the four-game Great Lakes Valley Conference series opener.
 
Sedlacek went a season-high seven innings to improve to 5-0 on the mound, allowing two runs on five hits and walked five, while junior Austin Simokaitis picked up the two-inning save, his eighth of the season.
 
UMSL improves to 16-8 overall, including 11-8 in the GLVC, while league-leader William Jewell slips to 23-7 and 14-5 in conference play. The teams continue their series tomorrow with a doubleheader set to begin at 12 p.m.
 
William Jewell broke a scoreless game in the sixth inning, taking advantage of a leadoff walk to score on a two-out single up the middle, but the Tritons countered in the bottom of the frame and then some, plating four runs on four hits, including a two-run single by sophomore Jake Beckwith and a two-run home run from junior Dominic Orlando, his first of the season.
 
The Cardinals picked up their final runs with one each in the seventh and eighth.
 
Offensively, Orlando and junior Justin Busekrus each tallied three hits as UMSL put 10 on the board. Orlando finished with a double in addition to his home run, while junior Jarret Clark added a single to extend his on-base streak to 17 games.
 
William Jewell finished with eight hits, including a 5-for-5 performance from number two hitter Luke Lucchetti.
 
Cardinals ace Austin Kretchmar (7-1) suffered his first loss of the season, allowing all four runs on nine hits in seven innings.