SAUGET, Ill. - On a night when its offense was only able to muster one run on nine hits, Webster University Baseball used a complete game pitching gem from junior Matt Mulhearn (Chicago Heights, Ill./Marian Catholic) to post a 1-0 shutout victory over Iowa Wesleyan in the opener of its three-game St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series against the Tigers at GCS Credit Union Ballpark.

With the victory, Webster extended its win streak to three straight games and improved its record to 18-8 overall and 8-3 in the SLIAC, while Iowa Wesleyan fell to 5-20-1 overall and 3-10 in the league. 

In Friday's game, Mulhearn tossed a complete game shutout as he threw 110 pitches and allowed just two hits, while walking three and tying a career high with 12 strikeouts. Mulhearn, who improved to 6-1 with the win, struck out the side in the first and third innings and has now recorded 60 strikeouts in 56.1 innings on the season. With his performance, Mulhearn, who threw a career high nine innings in Friday's game, lowered his season ERA to 2.24. 

Webster offense was held in check most of the night by IWU starting pitcher Charles Shockley, who entered the game with a 43.20 ERA and had only tossed a total of 3.1 innings in eight previous appearances on the mound this season. Shockley threw into the eighth inning on Friday and scattered nine hits and allowed one run, while walking five and striking out seven. 

The only run scored in the game came in the second inning as junior catcher Joe Swanson (Park Ridge, Ill./Maine West) reached on a two-out single up the middle, moved to second on a bunt single by sophomore shortstop Matt Staker (El Cajon, Calif./Saint Augustine) and reached third when senior designated hitter Christian Dahncke (Vienna, Ill./Southeastern Illinois) drew a walk to load the bases. The next Gorlok, senior second baseman Danny Strohm (St. Louis, Mo./Greenville University) drew a bases loaded walk to bring home Swanson with the game's only run. With the bases loaded, Shockley got out of the jam by striking out junior centerfielder Aron Hopp (Lincoln, Ill./Lincoln College). 

In the bottom of the third, Webster put runners on second and third thanks to singles by senior rightfielder Nate Tholl (Tinley Park, Ill./John A. Logan CC) and sophomore third baseman Ben Swords (Freeport, Ill./Freeport), an error by Shockley on a failed pickoff attempt and a stolen base, but the Gorloks would fail to score as junior leftfielder A.J. Smith (DuQuoin, Ill./DuQuoin) grounded out to first and on the play, both runners tried to advance and it turned into a triple play for Tigers as Tholl was out at home and Swords was retired at third base in a rundown by IWU first baseman Nick Salas.

IWU put two runners on base in the top of the fourth on a walk and a hit batsman, but Mulhearn would get out of the jam by forcing Tavares Williams to ground into a fielder's choice to leave two runners on base.

The Gorloks would load the bases again in the bottom of the fourth thanks to a lead off single by junior All-American first baseman Kyler Kent (Pottsboro, Texas/Pottsboro) and walks issued to both Staker and Dahncke with one out. Shockley, though, would strikeout Strohm looking on an 0-2 pitch and then he got Hopp to fly out to right to end the inning. 

In the sixth, Staker reached on a one-out bunt single and moved to second on a single by Dahncke, but once again, Shockley would get out of the jam by inducing Strohm to fly out to right and then strikeout Hopp on a 1-2 pitch. Hopp finished the game leaving eight runners stranded. 

The Gorloks got another single by Staker in the eighth with one out that chased Shockley from the game. Shockley was replaced on the mound by Cullen Papenhagen and he would strike out the only two hitters he faced to keep the score 1-0 heading to the ninth.

In the ninth, Mulhearn struck out the first two hitters he faced and then ended the game by getting Salas to ground out to Staker at short to seal WU's second consecutive shutout win and third overall shutout on the season. 

Staker finished the night by going 3-for-3 at the plate, while Tholl added two hits and a stolen base and Swords extended his hit streak to six straight games with his third inning single. 

Williams and Minami Matsumoto each had a hit for the Tigers in the loss. 

The two teams will conclude its three-games SLIAC series with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 13 beginning at 1 p.m.