GREENVILLE, Ill. - Sophomore Sean Beaver (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch) pitched perhaps his best game of the 2019 season here Friday evening against Spalding University to propel Webster University into the championship round of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament following the Gorloks 8-1 win over the Golden Eagles in a winner's bracket match-up at Robert E. Smith Field.

With the victory, Webster extends its win streak to five straight games and improves its record to 31-10 overall, while Spalding fell to 30-11 and now will face Greenville in an elimination game on Saturday afternoon to determine Webster's opponent in Saturday's 7 p.m. championship game. Spalding and Greenville will face each other at 4 p.m. on Saturday with the loser being eliminated from double elimination tournament. 

Beaver (6-3) tossed a complete game seven-hitter against the league's top-rated offense as he allowed just one run, walked two and tied a career high with nine strikeouts to keep the Gorloks undefeated in the tournament and avenge a loss earlier this season against Spalding. On March 20 in Louisville, Ky., Beaver, who was named a Third-Team SLIAC performer prior to his start Friday night, lasted just 3.2 innings and as he allowed six hits and a career high eight runs, while walking a career high four and striking out one in Webster's 9-3 loss to the Golden Eagles. 

Along with Beaver's pitching gem, Webster's offense collected nine hits and scored eight runs as the 18th/23rd-ranked Gorloks have now recorded 24 hits and has scored 19 runs in two SLIAC Tournament games. In addition, Webster's pitchers have allowed just two runs in two tournament games and have an ERA of 1.00 ERA. 

Against Spalding, sophomore third baseman Ben Swords (Freeport, Ill./Freeport), junior All-American first baseman Kyler Kent (Pottsboro, Texas/Pottsboro) and senior second baseman Danny Strohm (St. Louis, Mo./Greenville University) each had two hits in the win, while senior rightfielder Nate Tholl (Tinley Park, Ill./John A. Logan CC) scored three runs and stole two bases as the Gorloks stole six bases in the game. 

The Gorloks appeared headed to scoring in the top of the first as Jack Parisi walked the first two Webster hitters and then hit junior leftfielder A.J. Smith (DuQuoin, Ill./DuQuoin) to load the bases, but Parisi would get out of the jam by forcing Kent to hit into a 6-3 double play. 

Webster, who is seeking to win a second consecutive SLIAC Tournament title, opened the scoring against Spalding in the third inning as the Gorloks recorded three hits and and took advantage of a Spalding error to score four runs and take a 4-0 lead. In the inning, Strohm led off with a double to left center, moved to third on a bunt by junior centerfielder Aron Hopp (Lincoln, Ill./Lincoln College) and scored on an RBI single by Swords. After Smith reached on a fielder's choice, Kent followed with a 2-run single through the right side and sophomore designated hitter Kellen Quigley (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) then brought home the fourth run on a bunt play with Smith on third base. 

The Golden Eagles, who won a share of its first-ever SLIAC regular season title this season and earned the top seed in the SLIAC Tournament thanks to its doubleheader sweep over the Gorloks during the regular season, added its lone run of the game in the bottom of the third on an RBI single by Evan Trentman, which plated Cody Milliner, who led off the inning with a single and then stole second, before scoring on Trentman's single. Beaver would eventually load the bases as an infield single by Eric Meyer and a walk to Quenton Brownlee, before getting out of the jam by forcing Mitchell Langley to fly out to left. 

Webster's lead grew to 6-1 in the top of the fourth thanks to RBI singles by Tholl and Swords. 

From that point, Beaver's pitching began to take over the game as he nine straight from the third to the sixth inning, before allowing a 2-out single in the bottom of the sixth to Langley. After Langley's single, Beaver, who lowered his season ERA to 1.78, would strike out Bryce Spalding to end the inning and then would strike out the next four Golden Eagles in order, before walking Trentman with one out in the eighth.

The Gorloks lead grew to 8-1 in the eighth inning as Strohm led off the frame with a home run over the wall in left field on the second pitch he saw from Spalding reliever Drew Switzer, who replaced Parisi on the mound to open the eighth inning. After Switzer retired Hopp on a ground out and then struck out Tholl, but Tholl was able to reach bases thanks to passed ball. After Swords walked and Tholl stole third, Smith reached on a fielder's choice that resulted in an error on the play at second that allowed Tholl to score the Gorloks' eighth run of the game. Switzer, though, got out of the jam by inducing Kent to line out into a double play. 

In the ninth, Swanson and sophomore shortstop Matt Staker (El Cajon, Calif./Saint Augustine) each drew one out walks to put runners on first and second, Logan Koch would then come into the game out of the bullpen and hit Strohm with a pitch to load the bases, before he got Hopp to ground into a 6-3 double play to end the inning. 

Spalding put runners on second and third in bottom of the ninth thanks to singles by Bryce Spalding and Milliner, before he struck out Zane Baker to end the game. 

Parisi (6-1) took the loss for Spalding on the mound as he pitched seven innings and allowed eight hits and six runs (four earned runs), while walking four and striking out six in his 128 pitch outing.

Spalding finished the game with seven hits, including two hits each by Trentman and Milliner. Beaver limited two of the top hitters in the league - Garrett Wilson and Eric Meyer to just one hit in eight at-bats. Entering the game, Meyer, who was named this season's SLIAC Player of the Year, was second in the league with a .396 batting average, while Wilson was third in the league with a .395 average. 

The Gorloks left 11 runners on base and hit into three double plays, while Spalding left eight runners on base and committed two errors. 

Webster will now look to take home its second consecutive SLIAC Tournament title as they face the winner of Saturday's elimination game between Greenville and Spalding at 7 p.m. in the championship game. The Gorloks are the lone undefeated team in the tournament and will need to lose twice as the tournament's second championship game (if necessary) is scheduled for Sunday, May 12 at 1 pm. The winner of the SLIAC Tournament receives the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament.