CLAYTON, Mo. - Webster University saw its season high 11 game win streak snapped here Sunday afternoon as the 18th-ranked Gorloks fell 9-0 to Fontbonne University in the finale of the teams three-game St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series at ABC Park. 

With the setback, Webster falls to 26-9 overall and 16-4 in the league, while Fontbonne moves to 24-11 overall and 11-8 in the league. 

In Sunday's game, the Gorloks offense was limited to just three singles against Fontbonne starting pitcher Luke Summers, who entered the game fourth in NCAA Division III in ERA at 0.69 on the season. In addition to an ERA of 0.69, Summers leads Division III in strikeouts with 119 and complete games with seven after tosslng a nine inning gem against Webster. 

Summers (10-2) scattered three hits in nine innings of work, while walking two, hitting two and striking out 10 in his 113 pitch outing. Summers improved his season ERA to 0.62 with his third shutout of the season.

Webster's first hit came in the top of the first as senior rightfielder Nate Tholl (Tinley Park, Ill./John A. Logan CC) reached on a one-out single to center, but would eventually be picked off first by Summers. 

In the second inning, junior leftfielder A.J. Smith lead off the inning with a single to center, but he would eventually be erased as he was caught stealing during the at bat of senior catcher Joe Swanson (Park Ridge, Ill./Maine West). 

After two scoreless innings, the Griffins were able to finally dent the scoreboard in the bottom of the third against Webster freshman hurler Brandon May (St. Louis, Mo./St. John's Vianney), who earned the start opposite Summers on the mound. In the inning, FBU scored five runs on four hits and two Webster errors, which came on the same play, to take a 5-0 lead. The big hits in the inning were a 2-run single by Tyler Grimes and RBI singles by both Michael Puckett, Jr. and Matt Tossick.

That five run cushion would be more than enough for Summers as he would allow just one more hit and a total of five base runners over the final five innings of the game to shut Webster out for the first time this season and in fact, the first time since being shutout by Wartbug (3-0) in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Division III Central Regional at GCS Credit Union Ballpark in Sauget, Ill. That was a span of 83 games between being shutout. 

FBU gave Summers some more insurance runs in the bottom of the fourth solo home runs by Jonathan Hoevelmann and Braeden Dobbs off of junior All-American reliever Shane Donovan (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett), who relieved May with two outs in the third. 

The Gorloks final hit of the game came in the fourth inning on an single to right by Smith, who had two of Webster's three singles against Summers. 

FBU completed the scoring in the eighth as they used one hit, which was an 2-run double by Gus Purschke to take a 9-0 lead. Both of FBU's runners that scored reached base after being hit by pitches from sophomore reliever Bobby Strandt (Frisco, Texas/University of Arkansas), who was the sixth of seven pitchers used by the Gorloks in the game. The eighth inning could have gotten more out of control as the Griffins would eventually load the bases after Purschke's double, but freshman Nick Heiden (Burbank, Ill./St. Laurence) got out of the jam by striking out both Puckett and Tossick to end the inning.

In the ninth, senior pinch hitter Christian Dahncke (Vienna, Ill./Southeastenr Illinois) was hit by a pitch and sophomore third baseman Ben Swords (Freeport, Ill./Freeport) drew a walk to put two runners on base with no out, but Summers would retire the next three Gorloks in order to seal the shutout win.

Fontbonne finished with 11 hits in the game as Dobbs went 3-for-3 with two runs scored, while Hoevelmann and Tossick added two hits for the Griffins. 

May (3-1) suffered his first loss of the season on the mound as he pitched 2.2 innings and allowed seven hits and five runs (two earned), while walking two and fanning two. Webster's bullpen combined to pitch 5.1 innings and allowed just four hits and four runs, while walking three and striking out seven. 

Both teams committed two errors and the Griffins turned the games only double play. 

In addition, both teams stranded a total of 15 runners on base as Fontbonne left nine and Webster stranded six. 

The Gorloks will look to get back into the win column this coming Wednesday, May 1 as they travel to River Forest, Ill., for a non-conference doubleheader against No. 1 ranked Concordia-Chicago. The doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. It will be the second and third meetings this season between the two schools as CUC picked up a 4-1 win over the Gorloks in Saint Leo, Fla., on March 14 when they scored three unearned runs in the eighth inning on a dropped fly ball in right by Tholl.