SAUGET, Ill. – Webster University Baseball used seven strong innings from junior righthander Matt Mulhearn (Chicago Heights, Ill./Marian Catholic) and three unearned runs here Sunday afternoon to post a 4-1 victory over Transylvania University in its 2019 season opener for both teams at GCS Credit Union Ballpark.
 
With the win, Webster, who is 15th and 16th respectively in the Preseason Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll and D3Baseball.com/NCBWA poll, has now won six consecutive openers since suffering a 3-2 loss at WashU to open the 2013 season, while Transylvania falls to 0-1. The teams will complete the three game series with a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m. at GCS Ballpark.
 
Mulhearn, who got the start in the opener for the Gorloks, scattered five hits over seven innings and allowed just one run, while walking one and striking out three in his 96 pitch outing. Mulhearn is now 11-4 in his collegiate career and in 119.1 innings of work, he has struck out 105 and walked 31. The 11 wins are tied for 17th most on the school's all-time chart.
 
In addition to Mulhearn, senior Adrian Santiago (Chicago, Ill./Oakton) pitched the final two innings and allowed just one hit and retired the final five hitters he faced in order to pick up the save.
 
Mulhearn got himself into trouble in the first inning of Sunday's opener as he loaded the bases with no outs thanks to back-to-back singles and a walk, before settling down and retiring the next two hitters, including striking out Wade Lopiccolo looking on a 1-2 pitch and then got out of the bases loaded jam when junior catcher Joe Swanson (Park Ridge, Ill./Maine West) picked off Riley Wilbur at third to end the inning. Wilbur had led of the game with a single to left field. 
 
Webster would waste would time getting on the scoreboard as they plated the game's first run in the bottom of the first without the benefit of a hit as junior leftfielder Adam Lovell (Lafayette, Ind./Saint Joseph's) led off with walk, moved to second on a ground out and reached third on a wild pitch and after sophomore third baseman Ben Swords (Freeport, Ill./Freeport) drew a walk, junior All-American first baseman Kyler Kent (Pottsboro, Texas/Pottsboro) drove home Lovell on his RBI ground out. The Gorloks, though, wouldn't score another run in the inning as Transylvania starting hurler Jake Schmidt got out of the jam by striking out sophomore shortstop Matt Staker (El Cajon, Calif./Saint Augustine) with runners on second and third. 
 
Webster jumped in front 2-0 in the bottom of the third inning as Lovell scored an unearned run in the inning after leading off the frame and getting on base thanks to a fielding error by Hudson Chastain. Lovell would then steal second and reach third on a failed pickoff attempt, before scoring on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Swords. 
 
The Pioneers, who are coached by former Webster assistant coach Zack Getsee, pulled within 2-1 in the top of the fourth inning as Chastain led off with a double, moved to third on a bunt and scored on Issac Taylor's sacrifice fly to left for the Pioneers first run of the 2019 season.
 
In the fifth, senior rightfielder Nate Tholl (Tinley Park, lll./John A. Logan CC) picked up WU's first hit of the 2019 season with his 2-out single up the middle in the bottom of the fifth. One batter later, Swords collected the Gorloks second hit of the game on a hard hit ball to third. Both of those hits came off of Transylvania reliever Ashton Plymale, who relieved Schmidt to start the fifth inning, despite Schmidt not allowing a hit to the Gorloks through the first four innings. After Kent drew a walk to load the bases, Swanson would reach on a throwing error by Lopiccolo at third base that allowed both Tholl and Swords to score two unearned runs to give the Gorloks a 4-1 lead.
 
In the sixth, Webster had another scoring opportunity as senior designated hitter Jacob Budrovich (St. Louis, Mo./Lutheran South) roped a double to left for WU's first extra base hit of the season. Budrovich was then lifted for a pinch runner and that runner, sophomore Kellen Quigley (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbook) stole third with one out. The next Gorlok hitter, junior centerfielder Aron Hopp (Lincoln, Ill./Lincoln College), who completed his basketball season in Saturday night's St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament against Eureka, drew a walk and then stole second to put runners on second and third. Plymale would then walk Lovell to load the bases, before he got out of the bases loaded jam by striking out Tholl and forcing Swords to ground out. 
 
Kent would draw his second walk of the game in the seventh from Transylvania's third pitcher of the game, Robert Young. Kent, though, would be erased one batter later as Swanson grounded into a 4-6-3 double play. 
 
In fact, Kent would be the final base runner of the game for the Gorloks as Young would retire the final five hitters he faced in order.
 
The three hits were the fewest recorded by the Gorloks in a game since being held to two hits in a 4-1 win on May 1 last season against Benedictine University. 
 
Lovell scored two of WU's four runs in the game and also drew two walks in the win. 
 
Wilber paced Transylvania with two hits as the Pioneers recorded six hits in the game and had three errors. 
 
The Gorloks finished the game with two errors, but neither were costly and struck out eight times in the game.