(St. Louis, Mo.) - The Webster Gorloks split a conference doubleheader at Maryville on Saturday afternoon losing game one 8-6 and winning game two 5-4 in 10 innings. With the win in game two Webster clinched a share of the conference title and clinch the outright title with one more win.

    In the opener WU (22-12, 17-3 SLIAC) took advantage of some early wildness by the Saints (19-15, 15-7 SLIAC) pitchers loading the bases with no one out in the first. Greg Steen drove in the first two runs with a single to left center then moved to second on a stolen base. After a strikeout Kyle Starnes drove in the third run with a sacrifice fly to left scoring Andrew Fuiten but Steen was caught in a rundown trying to advance to third and was tagged out ending the inning.

    Maryville got two of those runs back in the home half of the first thanks to a couple of errors by the Gorlok defense. The Saints had a chance to take the lead but left the bases loaded ending the threat. Webster answered right back with two more in the second extending the lead back to three runs and had runners at second and third with one out but a foul out to first and a strikeout ended the rally.

    The Saints continued to battle back tying the game in the bottom of the frame scoring three times on two hits with another WU error thrown in. Neither side was able to muster a run in the third but Webster regained the lead on Alex Raetzloff's eighth home run of the season, a solo shot to right center, to make it 6-5. They had a chance for more but Dave Umfleet was thrown out trying to steal third and Steen flied out to right to end the fourth.

    Maryville answered right back taking its first lead of the contest scoring three times in its half of the fourth. From that point its pitching took over holding the Gorloks without a hit over the final three innings.

   Will Savage suffered the loss allowing three runs, two earned, on five hits with a walk and a pair of K's in 4.2 innings of work to fall to 0-2 on the season.

    In the nightcap the Gorloks fell behind 2-0 in the first inning after the first two were retired on a double and a two run home run from the pitcher Chris Stenzel. Webster tied the game in fourth inning with a pair of doubles and a single after two were down. The game would remain scoreless over the next four plus innings with each side having its chances to win the game.

    The Saints had the best chance in the bottom of the ninth with a runner at second and one out but Paul Kienker saved the game for WU by making a diving catch in right field then got up and doubled the runner of second base to send the game into the 10th.

    Webster got its lead off man on to start the 10th when John Combs singled up the middle and then moved to second when Starnes dropped a sacrifice bunt. They took the lead when Nathan Shelton singled to left field scoring Combs and moved to second on the throw. After Shelton stole third he scored when Tom Kotis hit a slow roller down the first base line and the pitcher's throw home was not in time. After a caught stealing WU got three straight singles scoring Kienker with the eventual winning run to make it 5-2.

    John DuHadway made things interesting in the bottom of the inning by hitting the first two hitters and after a strikeout he allowed a double that glanced off a diving Kotis's glove to make it 5-3 with the tying run at second and only one out. A sacrifice fly to center made it 5-4 and the tying run only 90 feet away. DuHadway would hit another batter but got Greg Schwartz to strike out swinging to end the game.

    DuHadway got the win pitching the final 1.2 innings allowing two runs on a hit with to punchouts improving to 3-2 on the year. Wes Hilliard went the first 8.1 innings allowing only six hits and no runs after the first six innings.

    The Gorloks and Saints will meet again on Sunday evening at GCS Ballpark in Sauget, Ill. with first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m.