GREENVILLE, Ill. - Webster University continued its strong play here Friday in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament as the seventh-ranked Gorloks scored 16 runs en route to posting a 16-10 victory over No. 2 seed Spalding in a winners bracket game at Robert E. Smith Field. 

With the victory, Webster, who is seeking its league-best ninth SLIAC Tournament title, advances to Saturday's championship game at 5 p.m. By virture of being the only undefeated team in the double-elimination event, Webster would need to lose twice on Saturday to not take home the championship trophy for the first time since 2014.

One night after recording 16 hits and scoring 14 runs in its 14-7 opening round win against Greenville, the Gorloks recorded 14 hits and scored 16 runs, including scoring eight runs in the second and six runs in the fifth, in the win over Spalding. Webster will face defending SLIAC Tournament champion Greenville at 5 p.m. Saturday in the championship game. Greenville earned its spot in the title game after picking upn 18-9 win over Westminster (Mo.) College in the first elimination game, before defeating Spalding, 4-0, in Friday's final game to ean a spot in the Saturday's final.

Webster improves to 35-7 with the victory on Friday and extends its win streak to 21 consecutive games, which is currently the longest active win streak among all NCAA baseball playing schools. Spalding falls to 31-11 on the season and 0-3 against Webster as the Gorloks swept a doubleheader against the Golden Eagles last Saturday at GCS Credit Union Ballpark to end the regular season.

In the win over Spalding, junior second baseman Danny Strohm (St. Louis, Mo./Greenvile University) led the way offensively as he recorded a career-high four hits and was on base five times. In addition to Strohm, sophomore first baseman Kyler Kent (Pottsboro, Texas/Pottsboro) added three hits to push his season total 73, which is third-most in a single season in school history. Kent needs two more hits to tie and three more to break the single season mark of 75 hits established by Tom Henke in 2012. 

Along with recording 14 hits, including two doubles and two home runs, the Gorloks also drew a season-high tying 12 walks from four Spalding pitchers, including drawing five walks in 1.1 innings from Spalding starter Jack Parisi. Senior leftfielder Mike Wick (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) and sophomore rightfielder Adam Lovell (Lafayette, Ind./Saint Joseph's) each had three walks in the game as those two combined combined to reach base eight times and scored a combined six runs. Webster also drew 12 walks earlier this season in a 20-0 win against Principia College on April 17.

Spalding would strike first in Friday's winner's bracket game as they used three hits, two walks and three wild pitches from Gorlok senior starting hurler C.J. Lee (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) and two passed balls by sophomore catcher Joe Swanson (Park Ridge, Ill./Maine West) to plate three runs in the second inning and take an early 3-0 lead. 

The Gorloks, though, would respond in the bottom of the second as they sent 13 hitters to the plate and recorded five hits and scored eight runs to take an 8-3 lead. The inning opened with Parisi walking both Swanson and senior centerfielder Conner Wardlaw (Arnold, Mo./Jefferson College). Strohm would then follow with an RBI single to left that scored Swanson and moved Wardlaw to second. After Parisi struck out freshman shortstop Matt Staker (El Cajon, Calif./Saint Augustine) for the first out, Wick drew a walk to load the bases. Lovell followed Wick and hit the ball back to the mound, but Parisi misplayed the ball for an error that allowed Wardlaw to score the second run. Senior designated hitter Ben Dinter (Gurnee, Ill./College of Lake County) would then draw a walk with the bases loaded to bring home the third run of the inning. The walk to Dinter chased Parisi from the game and Kent would greet Spalding reliever Zach Jones with a two-run infield single to give the Gorloks a 5-3 lead. Freshman third baseman Ben Swords (Freeport, Ill./Freeport) would follow Kent and hit an RBI double to left and then Swanson would follow with an RBI single and Wardlaw completed the scoring with his sacrifice fly to right.

Spalding would add a run in the top of the third inning thanks to a walks and back-to-back singles by Quenton Brownlee and Cody Milliner off of Lee. 

Webster got that run back in the bottom of the third without the benefit of a hit as Wick and Lovell led off the frame with back-to-back walks and after both players stole second and third respectively, Kent would bring home Wick on a sacrifice fly to left. Kent's sacrifice fly was Webster's school record 31st of the season, which bettered old mark of 30 set in 2014.

The Golden Eagles pulled within 9-5 in the fourth inning thanks to a double by Garrett Wilson and a run scoring single by Clay Kelly. 

Leading 9-5 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, Webster put the game out of reach as they sent 11 hitters to the plate, had five hits and scored six runs to push out to a 15-5 lead. The big hits in the inning were a 3-run homer by Dinter and a two-run homer by Swords. The homer by Dinter was his third of the season, while Swords recorded his first collegiate home run. The other run was brought home on an RBI double to left center by Strohm. 

Spalding would drop Webster's lead to 15-7 thanks to RBI double to left center by Wilson in the sixth and a solo homer over the fence in center in the seventh by Brownlee. Both of those runs came off of Lee, who allowed a career high nine runs in his seven-plus innings of work. 

The Golden Eagles would push even closer to the Gorloks in the eighth as they scored three runs, all of which, came on a 3-run homer by Eric Meyer over the fence in left center. Meyer's homer came off of junior reliever Adrian Santiago (Chicago, Ill./Oakton College.), who relieved Lee earlier in the inning after he opened the frame by allowing a single to Zane Baker and walking Evan Trentman. 

Lee, who improved to 7-2 on the year with the win, allowed a career high 11 hits and nine runs, while walking four and striking out six in his 112-pitch outing. 

The Gorloks would get one of those runs back in the bottom of the eighth to complete the scoring. In the inning, junior rightfielder Nate Tholl (Tinley Park, Ill./John A. Logan CC) walked with one out, advanced to second on a wild pitch and then stole third. After Dinter drew a walk from Peyton Hood, the third Spalding pitcher, Tholl would then score on another Hood wild pitch that occurred on ball four of Dinter's at-bat. Lane Staples would replace Hood on the mound and after Kent reached on a single through the right side to put runners on first and second with one out, Staples would strike out both Swords and Swanson to end the inning. 

Santiago would close out the game by striking out the side in the ninth. 

Santiago allowed just one hit and one run, while walking none and striking out a career-high four in his two innings of work.

In addition to Strohm and Kent's combined seven hits, Swords and Swanson each had two hits, while Dinter had 4 RBI and Kent and Swords each had 3 RBI in the victory. 

Parisi (5-3) took the loss for the Golden Eagles as he pitched 1.1 innings and allowed one hit and six runs (five earned), while walking five and fanning one in 54 pitches, of which, 24 of them went for strikes. The Golden Eagles three relievers combined to pitch 6.2 innings and allowed 13 hits, 10 runs, walk seven and strike out five. 

Spalding finished with 12 hits, including Wilson, who was named the SLIAC Player of the Year o Thursday, recording three hits. In addition to Wilson, Brownlee, Milliner and Baker each had two hits in the loss.