ST. LOUIS, MO. – The University of Missouri-St. Louis baseball team split its first two games of a four-game series against Rockhurst on Saturday, winning the opener, 6-2. The Hawks posted a 3-1 victory in the nightcap.
The Tritons move to 22-11 overall, including 6-8 in the GLVC. Rockhurst is now 17-18 and 8-6 in the league. The two teams will close out the series tomorrow with another doubleheader slated for a Noon first pitch.
GAME 1: UMSL 6, Rockhurst 2Senior
Kurt McGuire limited the Hawks to four hits and one run in eight innings of work, while striking out seven to improve to 6-1 on the year.
Rockhurst broke up McGuire's no-hitter in the fifth inning, while getting one run across the plate to pull within 5-1, but with the bases loaded, McGuire retired two straight to end the threat of additional runs.
Offensively, the Tritons registered 11 hits, including two each from seniors
Jose Ortiz and
Justin Busekrus and juniors
Jake Beckwith and
Nick Ulrey.
UMSL broke the scoreless game in the third inning on junior
Tanner Hudson's three-run double.
Senior
Dominic Orlando pushed the advantage to 4-0 with an RBI single in the fourth, while a two-out error by the Hawks made it 5-0.
Beckwith's RBI single in the sixth made it 6-1, while the Hawks tacked on a run in the ninth with a bases loaded walk issued by senior
Austin Simokaitis. However, Simokaitis earned his 12
th save of the year by striking out Rockhurst's Brett Marr to end the game.
GAME 2: Rockhurst 3, UMSL 1 (8 inn.)The Hawks came out on top in the pitcher's duel and a game that was scoreless heading into the extra inning of play.
Rockhurst struck for three runs on three hits in the top of the eighth off UMSL reliever
Jon Shanker.
Hudson came through with a two-out RBI single in home half of the frame to trim the deficit to 3-1, but the Tritons would leave two runners on to end the game.
Shanker took the loss in two innings of relief work, while junior
Jake Renfrow tossed six scoreless innings in the start, scattering four hits and walking four.
Freshman
Tom DeCero recorded two of UMSL's four hits.
