O'FALLON, Mo. – The Webster University baseball team was back in action this afternoon when they took on the Spalding (Ky.) University Golden Eagles for the SLIAC Baseball Tournament Championship. The Gorloks defeated the Golden Eagles by a final score of 6-5 in 12 innings to improve to 37-6 on the season and capture their 12th tournament title in program history and their fourth straight. With the loss, the Golden Eagles season comes to an end with a 27-18 overall record and 15-5 mark in conference play.
The Gorloks put together 16 hits in the contest. The Golden Eagles got off to a great start as they hit a homerun on the first pitch of the game to take a 1-0 lead in the contest. They added to their lead in the top of the second as they rallied for two runs to take a 3-0 advantage. Webster's offense came alive in the bottom of the fifth when R.J. LaRocco singled to left field scoring Zach Goodman to cut the score to 3-1. The Gorloks continued to put the ball in play as the game progressed and were able to take their first lead of the game on three straight RBI hits from A.J. Smith, Malik Wirges, and Zach Goodman to make the score 4-3. The Golden Eagles tied the game in the top of the ninth to send the game to extras.
The teams went scoreless through the 10th and 11th innings, but in the top of the 12th the Golden Eagles scored a run to put themselves up 5-4 in the contest. However, an RBI double from Adam Lovell and an RBI single from Aron Hopp in the bottom of the 12th solidified the teams 12th SLIAC Baseball Tournament Championship in program history.
J.T. Miller got the start in this one as he allowed seven hits and three earned runs while striking out two in 5.0 innings. Cooper Hake pitched in relief as he allowed just one hit in 2.0 innings of the game. Ben Kowalski and Alek Elges closed out the game as Kowalski allowed two hits while striking out one in 1.1 innings. Elges picked up his ninth win of the season after allowing three hits while striking out one in the final 3.2 innings of the game.
Zach Goodman and Adam Lovell led the way at the plate as they each recorded three hits and an RBI in the contest. A.J. Smith and Malik Wirges also had great games as they each recorded two hits and an RBI. In addition, R.J. LaRocco and Aron Hopp each added an RBI.
Following the conclusion of the tournament, the SLIAC announced to the 2022 SLIAC Baseball All-Tournament team. For their efforts on the field during the conference tournament, Jordan Smevoll, Bobby Strandt, and Malik Wirges were all named to the All-Tournament team while Adam Lovell was named the SLIAC Tournament Most Valuable Player.
With the win today, the Gorloks have earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Baseball National Tournament for the 15th time in program history. They will find out their regional opponents on Monday, May 16th when the field is announced at 11 a.m. CST. The selection show can be watched at www.ncaa.com.