MOUNT PLEASANT, Iowa - Webster University continued its strong play in St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play here Saturday as the 18th-ranked Gorloks posted an 11-0 win in eight innings in its West Division series opener against Iowa Wesleyan at the Mapleleaf Athletic Complex.

With Saturday's victory, the Gorloks, who secured a spot in the SLIAC Tournament on Saturday, extended its win streak to 13 straight games and improved its record to 27-7 overall and 16-2 in the SLIAC, while Iowa Wesleyan fell to 7-31 overall and 0-21 in the league. The teams will complete its three-game series with a doubleheader on Sunday beginning at 1 p.m.

Saturday's win was paced by a career high 12 strikeout performance on the mound from sophomore Matt Mulhearn (Chicago Heights, Ill./Marian Catholic) and two hits apiece on offense from sophomore first baseman Kyler Kent (Pottsboro, Texas/Pottsboro), freshman third baseman Ben Swords (Freeport, Ill./Freeport) and junior second baseman Danny Strohm (St. Louis, Mo./Greenville University). In addition, sophomore catcher Joe Swanson (Park Ridge, Ill./Maine West) scored two runs and brought home four runs, including hitting a 2-run homer in the eighth inning. 

Webster jumped in front 2-0 in the second inning on two hits and a Tigers error. In the inning, Kent led off with a double, moved to third when junior rightfielder Nate Tholl (Tinley Park, Ill./John A. Logan CC) reached on a error by IWU third baseman Tyler Cooksey. Swanson would then bring home the first run on his sacrifice fly to center and the ensuing hitter, Strohm, would plate Webster's second run on his first career triple. 

The Gorloks lead grew to 8-0 in the third inning as they sent 10 hitters to the plate and used two hits, three walks, a wild pitch, a steal of home by Swords and a Tiger error to plate six runs. Webster's first run of the inning came home when they drew four straight walks to open the frame from IWU starting hurler Cody Brown, the fourth walk to Kent brought home senior leftfielder Mike Wick (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) with the first run. Swords brought home the next run with his RBI single through the left side and then Tholl followed with a sacrifice fly that plated the third run. Swanson brought home the next run his fielder's choice grounder and on the play, Swords moved to third thanks to an error by Cooksey. With Strohm at the plate, Swords would steal home for the fifth run of the inning and Strohm would complete the scoring with a sacrifice fly to right. 

Mulhearn would then take over on the mound with the eight-run cushion as he would retire the Tigers in order over his final three innings after allowing three bases runners in the fourth thanks to two singles and error, before striking out Michael Rojas with runners on first and third. 

Following Rojas' strikeout, Mulhearn would not another base runner as he would strikeout four of the final nine Tiger hitters he faced before senior Dakota DeFreitas (Brechin, Ontario/John Wood CC) pitched the eighth and walked two and struck out two to preserve the shutout.

For the game Mulhearn (7-2) pitched seven innings and scattered five singles, while walking none and fanning a career high 12. The 12 strikeouts was also a season high by a Webster pitcher. 

The Gorloks would tally three more runs in the eighth to push its lead to 11 runs to end Saturday's game one inning early due to the 10-run mercy rule. In the eighth, Tholl reached on a leadoff infield single and would score when Swanson drilled a pitch from Austin Christian through the left side for an inside-the-park home run to give Webster a 10-0 lead. The homer by Swanson was his second of the season. Webster would add its third run later in the inning on a fielder's choice grounder by sophomore centerfielder Adam Lovell (Lafayette, Ind./Saint Joseph's). 

Brown (2-4) took the loss on the mound for the Tigers as he tossed two-plus innings and allowed two hits and six runs (five earned), while walking five and striking out none. 

Following Sunday's doubleheader at Iowa Wesleyan, the Gorloks will open the final week of the regular season by playing a doubleheader on Tuesday, May 1 in Normal, Ill., on the campus of Illinois State University against Benedictine beginning at 5:30 p.m. and then the Gorloks will host Spalding on Saturday, May 5 in a doubleheader at GCS Credit Union Ballpark beginning at 12 p.m.