SAUGET, Ill. - Webster University found its offense here Saturdsay afternoon as the 24th-ranked Gorloks pounded out 30 hits and scored a total of 28 runs en route to earning a doubleheader sweep over Iowa Wesleyan University in St. Louis Intercollegiate Conference baseball action at GCS Credit Union Ballpark.

The Gorloks opened Saturday's doubleheader by recording 19 hits and scoring 17 runs in earning a 17-0 win and then used a five run third inning to post an 11-6 victory in the nightcap over the Tigers. The 17 runs in Saturday's opener were the most in a game this season for the Gorloks and the most since tallying 18 in an 18-6 win in last season's series finale at Iowa Wesleyan.

With the two victories, Webster extends its win streak to five straight games and improves its record to 20-8 overall and 10-3 in the SLIAC, while Iowa Wesleyan fell to 5-22-1 overall and 3-12 in the league. The two wins also helped Webster secure its 16th consecutive 20-win season and also give the Gorloks its four straight series win in league play.

Webster has now scored 10 or more runs in a game seven times this season, including five times in 13 league games and is averaging 7.3 runs per game in SLIAC play and is hitting .333 as a team in league contests.

In Saturday's doubleheader, senior rightfielder Nate Tholl (Tinley Park, Ill./John A. Logan) and junior catcher Joe Swanson (Park Ridge, Ill./Maine West) combined to go 11-for-16 at the plate with six runs scored and 8 RBI. Along with Tholl and Swanson, who was 4-for-4 at the plate in the opener, junior All-American first baseman Kyler Kent (Pottsboro, Texas/Pottsboro) went 4-for-8 with 4 RBI and sophomore third baseman Ben Swords (Freeport, Ill./Freeport) had three hits, scored five runs and hit two of WU's 13 doubles on the day.

Overall for the doubleheader, Webster had 13 doubles, one triple and two home runs and also struck out just one in 67 at-bats on the day, along with drawing 10 walkd and were hit by five pitches, including Tholl being hit twice.

In Saturday's first game, the Gorloks struck first as they tallied four runs on five hits in the bottom of the first to a take a 4-0 lead. Junior centerfielder Aron Hopp (Lincoln, Ill./Lincoln) opened the frame with a triple to right center and scored when Tholl followed with a single to left. The next Gorlok, Swords, delivered a ground-rule double over the fence in right to put runners on second and third and after junior leftfeilder A.J. Smith (DuQuoin, Ill./DuQuoin) walked to load the bases, Kent hit a sacrifice fly to left to score the second run of the inning, After Swords and Smith would be successful on a double steal, Swanson hit a single up the middle that plated Swords for the third run and the fourth run came home on a sacrifice fly off the bat of senior second baseman Danny Strohm (St. Louis, Mo./Greenville University).

Those four runs would be more than enough offense for sophomore Sean Beaver (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch) struck out the side in the first and pitched a no-hitter into the fifth inning when Jack De Burgh delievered a single to right for the Tigers only hit of the game. In fact, Beaver retired the first eight hitters in order before walking Connor Martin on a 3-1 count with two outs in the third.

Beaver (3-3) would pitch five innings in the game and allowed just one hit, while walking three and fanning eight in his 81 pitch outing. 

The Gorloks offense, though, wasn't done scoring as Kent drilled a pitch from Mitchell Wilcox over the fence in right for his third home run of the season in the bottom of the third to push WU's lead to 5-0. Webster would add two more runs later in the inning on back-to-back RBI singles by Hopp and Tholl to push the Gorloks lead to 7-0.

Webster's lead grew to 11-0 in the fourth inning as they used three hits to plate four runs. The big hits in inning were RBI doubles by both Swanson and Hopp, the latter being a 2-run double. 

In the sixth inning, Webster sent 10 hitters to the plate and used three hits, three walks and a hit batsman to score six runs and push out to a 17-0 lead. In the inning, Webster loaded the bases thanks to three straight walks issued by Garrett Nesbitt, the fourth of five pitchers used in the game by the Tigers. Nesbitt would bring him the first run when he hit sophomore pinch hitter Morgan Murphy (St. Louis, Mo./Brentwood) with a pitch. The RBI by Morgan was the first of his collegiate career. Freshman catcher Austin Jisa (Lincoln, Neb./Southeast) would then follow with a single to right for his first collegiate RBI. After Brandon Howell, who replaced Nesbitt following Jisa's single, recorded the second out of the inning, sophomore second baseman Jake Knoebel (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield East) hit a 2-run double down the left field line and sophomore shortstop Matt Staker (El Cajon, Calif./Saint Augustine) followed with a 2-run double of his own to left center to complete the scoring.

Freshman Joey Marko (Winfield, Mo./Winfield) would retire the Tigers in order in the top of the seventh to wrap up the win. 

In addition to Swanson going 4-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored and 2 RBI, Tholl went 3-for-3 with 2 RBI and Hopp finshed 3-for-4 with 3 RBI. Kent and senior designated Christian Dahncke (Vienna, Ill./Southeastern Illinois) each had two hits in the win. 

Wilcox (0-2) took the loss for the Tigers as he pitched two-plus innings and allowed eight hits and six runs (six earned), while walking one and fanning none. 

Meanwhile, in the nightcap, IWU opened the game by plating two runs in the top of the first on a 2-run homer over the wall in right by Chazz Brown off of freshman hurler Brendan May (St. Louis, Mo./Vianney), who started on the mound for the Gorloks. Those two runs were the first of the series for the Tigers as they had been held scoreless 16 consecutive innings for Brown's homer. 

The Gorloks got one of those runs back in the bottom of the first as they used a fielder's choice, a stolen base and a throwing error by IWU first baseman Nick Salas to score an unearned run and drop IWU's lead to 2-1. 

Webster would plate five runs in the third to take a 6-2 lead. In the inning, Tholl hit a 2-run homer over the wall in deep left center for the first two runs of the frame. The third run came home on a wild pitch by Michael Rojas, while Swanson and freshman catcher Zach Goodman (Greenwood Village, Colo./Arapahoe) added runs on run scoring doubles. The latter double by Goodman was a ground rule double over the wall in right. That double by Goodman was his first extra base hit of his collegiate career. 

The Tigers made things interesting in the fifth as they pulled within 6-4 thanks to a 2-run homer over the wall in left center by Salas.

In the bottom of the fifth, Webster got one of those runs back as they scored a run without the benefit of a hit thanks to a hit batsman, two stolen bases, a walk and a bunt by Strohm to push its lead to 7-4. 

IWU answered back in the top of the sixth on a 2-run homer off by Parker Leland off of junior All-American reliever Shane Donovan (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett), who replaced May on the mound after he hit Brown with a pitch following Salas' homer in the fifth. Leland's homer borught the Tigers within a run a 7-6. 

The Gorloks, though, scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth to push its lead to 11-6. The big hit in the inning was a 2-run double by Kent down the left field line.

Senior Adrian Santiago (Chicago, Ill./Oakton College) would then shut the Tigers down over the final three innings as he allowed just base runner over those final three innings as he hit Brown with a pitch in the seventh. After that hit batsman, Santiago retired the next seven batters in order, including striking out the side in the ninth to secure his fourth win of the season. 

In 3.1 innings of work, Santiago (4-2) struck out six and allowed only one base runner. 

May pitched 4.2 innings as he allowed seven hits and four runs, while walking two and fanning a season high six. 

Michael Rojas (0-1) took the loss for IWU as he pitched three innings and allowed four hits and six runs (five earned), while walking two and fanning none. 

In the nightcap, Tholl, Swords, Smith, Kent and Swanson each had two hits, while Jacob Leonard, Salas and Leland each had two hits for the Tigers, who finished with nine in the game. 

Eight of WU's 11 hits in the nightcap went for extra bases, including seven doubles. Smith and Swanson each had two doubles in the game. 

The Gorloks will look to make it seven consecutive wins this coming Tuesday, April 16 as they travel to Elsah, Ill., for a doubleheader against Principia College. First pitch of Tuesday's doubleheader with the Panthers is set for 5 p.m.