Saints Outlast D2 No. 15 St. Edward's

AUSTIN, Texas – The Our Lady of the Lake (OLLU) baseball team won a wild one this afternoon as they took on NCAA Division II foe, St. Edward's University (SEU). The Hilltoppers, who are ranked No. 15 in the latest American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) poll, plated nine runs in the final two innings but the Saints threw up a seven-spot in the top of the seventh inning to secure the victory.

Gavin Machado led off the second inning with a single up the middle and Brandon Betancourt followed by reaching on an error by the Hilltoppers pitchers that allowed Machado to score and even things at one. Jimmy Valle put OLLU in front, 2-1 with an RBI single that scored Betancourt.

SEU answered with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the second inning to regain the lead.

Back-to-back singles from Joshua Milton and Jack Kalisky got things going in the Saints' half of the third and a Carlos Gusman walk loaded the bases with Machado coming to the plate. Machado lifted a ball to the outfield for a sacrifice fly, scoring Milton. Betancourt picked up his second RBI of the game to give OLLU the slim 4-3 edge.

Three runs over the next two innings would give SEU the lead once again at 6-4.

Drew Saucedo and Alex Rodriguez each drove in runs and an SEU error plated two more runs for the Saints, allowing them to take the 8-6 lead over the Hilltoppers.

The Saints scored two more in the sixth, highlighted by a Jack Kalisky homerun, which would be his first of the game. Valle also drove in his second run of the game in the inning. In the home half of the inning, SEU added a run to cut the OLLU lead to 10-7.

SEU hit two homeruns in the seventh inning as part of a five-run burst giving them the 12-10 lead.

In the eighth inning, the Saints answered with seven runs of their own including another solo homerun by Kalisky. A double later in the frame, would give Kalisky his second and third RBI of the inning. Rodriguez and Isaac Davila each earned RBI in the inning after getting hit by pitches with the bases loaded. After 7.5 innings, the Saints held a 17-12 lead.

The Hilltoppers did not go away quietly as a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning made it a one-run game heading to the ninth.

Back-to-back walks for the Hilltoppers put the go-ahead run aboard in the bottom of the ninth. OLLU pitcher Noah De La Riva got his first out of the inning on a pick-off to second base and later induced a fly out. De La Riva gave way to Domenic Martinez who faced just one batter and closed the door on the SEU comeback attempt.

De La Riva earned the win, tossing 2.2 innings and Martinez picked up the save.

Kalisky finished the game 5-for-6 at the plate with four RBI and three runs scored. Benjamyn Hovda recorded three RBI while Machado and Gusman each drove in two.

The Saints will return to action this weekend as they welcome John Melvin to Missions Baseball Academy for a three-game series. First pitch of the series is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Friday evening.