KIRKSVILLE, MO. – The University of Missouri-St. Louis baseball team rallied for an 11-9 victory over Truman State in the first of two games on Sunday before posting a 9-7 win in the nightcap to complete the sweep as the two teams closed out the four-game Great Lakes Valley Conference series.
 
Junior Tom DeCero led UMSL with five hits, while juniors Xavier Collier and Brian Seymour had four RBI each.
 
Records: UMSL (18-22, 9-11 GLVC), Truman State (11-29, 5-15 GLVC)
 
Game 1: UMSL 11, Truman State 9
Collier's two-run homer in the ninth inning helped lift the Tritons to the win as they rallied from a five-run deficit, scoring seven unanswered to end the game.
 
The Tritons took an early 3-0 lead in the first inning, which included a two-run single from redshirt junior Brian Seymour. UMSL tallied four hits in the opening frame, while taking advantage of two Bulldog errors.
 
Truman State followed with eight straight runs and took a 9-4 lead in the sixth.
 
UMSL scored five runs on four hits in the seventh to tie the game at 9-9. Seymour and freshman Josh Shoemaker each drew a bases loaded walk, while freshman John Hilpert followed with a sac fly. A two-out, two-run single from redshirt freshman Keaton King then evened the score.
 
Graduate student Kevin Smith earned the win in relief. He went six innings, striking out eight and walking three, while allowing three runs on two hits.
 
UMSL out-hit the Bulldogs, 12-9, with Seymour finishing 2-for-4 with three RBI and three runs scored, also reaching on a walk. DeCero and senior Cooper Vinz added two hits and two runs each.
 
Game 2: UMSL 9, Truman State 7
The Tritons raced out to a 5-0 lead, which included four runs on four hits in the third, including a two-run double from Collier, an RBI double from redshirt sophomore Derrick Freeman and an RBI single from senior Jake Morsch.
 
DeCero's team-leading fourth home run of the season in the sixth made it 6-1, while an RBI single by Vinz in the seventh made it 7-4.
 
All but one of Truman's runs came courtesy of the long ball.
 
Senior Jim Brandt improved to 4-2 on the hill going five and one-thirds in the start. He allowed four runs on eight hits, while striking out three and walking three. Senior Alex Oltmann earned his second save of the season.
 
UMSL recorded 12 hits to Truman's 10. DeCero was 3-for-3 and also reached on a walk, while Seymour and Morsch added two hits each.
 
Series Notes: DeCero and Vinz had eight hits, four RBI and four runs scored each… the two teams combined for 100 hits and 77 runs.
 
Up Next: UMSL will host No. 5 Illinois Springfield on Tuesday in a single, non-conference game at 3 p.m.