O'FALLON, Mo. - Spalding baseball beat a familiar foe in Webster University twice to take home the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Tournament Championship.

It is the first SLIAC Tournament title in the program's history.

SPALDING 8, WEBSTER 1

The scoreboard showed no runs until the top of the third inning in the first game of championship Saturday.

Following a strikeout, back-to-back singles from Matthew McDowell and Michael Newsom placed Golden Eagles on first and second. An Ethan Tuttle single followed and loaded the bases. Jacob Spanyer was up next and hit a two-RBI single to score two before a sacrifice fly from Hunter Strong put the third run on the board.

The scoreboard stayed the same until the top of the eighth. Two quick outs put Spalding in a pinch, but a Marcus Collins single and McDowell getting hit by a pinch kept the inning going. Newsom hit a triple and two runners came home.

In the bottom of that frame, the Gorloks put their only run of the game up on a double.

Spalding closed out the scoring with a RBI single from Strong and a two-RBI double from Collins en route to the 8-1 win.

SPALDING 4, WEBSTER 3

The final game was a nailbiter the entire way. Fitting for a winner-takes-all contest.

The Golden Eagles tacked on the first run after singles from Tuttle and Spanyer in the top of the first inning put Tuttle in position to score on a Strong single.

Webster answered back in the bottom of the first with a flyout that evened things up at 1-1. The opposition then took the lead with an RBI double in the bottom of the fourth.

A solo slam from Strong, that cleared the stands in the outfield, tied the game at 2-all in the top of the sixth. The Spalding lead was built on again in the seventh inning when Dryden Schroeder walked and stole second to put himself in scoring position which allowed Michael Speck to send him home on a double. After a ground out, Newsom hit Speck home on a single to center field.

The Gorloks made things interesting in the bottom of the eighth when they pulled within one after a single. The Golden Eagles were held scoreless in the top of the ninth which forced the defense to make one final stop.

An error from SU and a Webster single put Spalding in a perilous spot to start the final half inning. A hit to left field from the next batter looked like it was going to score a run but the Gorlok runner hesitated which allowed the Golden Eagles to get the out at home.

In the end, back-to-back swinging strikeouts sealed the 4-3 SLIAC Championship win for Spalding.

GOLDEN EAGLE NOTES

Jacob Spanyer and Marcus Collins led all hitters in game one with 3-for-5 performances.
Michael Newsom, Spanyer, Hunter Strong, and Marcus Collins each had a team-leading two RBI in the first contest.
Strong went 2-for-3 in the second game and led all batters with two RBI.
Jake Mueller got the start and the win in the opening game. He pitched six innings and struck out two while allowing no runs on six hits.
Caden Krystofiak and Wesley Clark also spent time on the mound for SU in the first game.
In the second game, five pitchers saw action for the winning team. Clay Burton got the start and pitched two innings. He allowed one run on three hits and struck out three. He was followed by Eric Wigginton who pitched one and 2/3 innings.
Cameron Rayborn led the Golden Eagles in strikeout and earned the win with him striking out six in three and 2/3 innings of work. Ethan Murphy followed and pitched 2/3 of a frame.
Caleb Collins earned the save for Spalding in the final inning. He struck out two batters and allowed only one hit.

NEXT FOR SPALDING

The Golden Eagles will find out their NCAA Tournament fate on Monday, at 12 p.m. The selection show will be broadcast live on the homepage of NCAA.org.