SAUGET, Ill. - Webster University concluded its two-game baseball season opening series with Wartburg here Sunday afternoon by suffering a hard-fought 5-3 loss to the Knights at GCS Credit Union Ballpark. 

With the setback, No. 3-ranked Webster falls to 1-1 on the season, while Wartburg also moves to 1-1 on the season.

After the two teams combined to two runs each in the first eight innings, the ninth inning produced a total of four runs on five hits as Wartburg managed to score three runs in the top of the ninth to take a 5-2 lead, but the Gorloks rally in the bottom of the ninth fell short after they scored one run and loaded the bases. 

Webster finished Sunday's game with six hits, including a 2-for-4 day at the plate from fourth-year junior All-American third baseman Ben Swords (Freeport, Ill./Freeport).

After not scoring in the first 11 innings this season, including being shutout and held to two hits in Saturday's opener against graduate student All-American pitcher Matt Mulhearn (Chicago Heights, Ill./Marian Catholic) and freshman Alek Elges (Littleton, Colo./J.K. Mullen), Wartburg was able to put their first run on the board of the 2021 season thanks to a 2-out home run over the left field wall by Parker Ridge off of Webster second-year freshman pitcher Jordan Smevoll (Dyer, Ind./Marian Catholic), who was making his first career start after pitching four times out of the bullpen during the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season.

The Gorloks tied the game in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single down the right field line off the bat of second-year sophomore catcher Zach Goodman (Greenwood Village, Colo./Araphoe). Goodman's single scored third-year sophomore second baseman Mitch Daniels (Columbia. Ill./Columbia), who had walked with one out in the inning and moved to second on error on a failed pickoff attempt by Wartburg pitcher Darren Kilpatrick. On Goodman's hit, he would be thrown out at second after he overslid the bag and on the play, he was injured and helped off the field.  

Wartburg, though, got that run back in the top of the sixth as Brett Kelting led off the frame with a home run over the wall in right field off of Smevoll. After Smevoll walked the next batter, Ethan Hayes, Webster head coach Bill Kurich went to his bullpen and brought fourth-year junior Andrew Padilla (Burbank, Ill./Reavis) into the game. He would get out the jam by forcing a double play ball to the first batter he faced and then getting Carter Stubitz to fly out to center. 

Padilla would strike out the side in the seventh and then in the bottom of the seventh, the Gorloks used a single, two hit batsmen and a wild pitch from Kilpatrick to score a run and tie the game.

In the seventh, graduate student first baseman Kyler Kent (Pottsboro, Texas/Pottsboro) reached on a one-out infield single to the pitcher and moved to second when Daniels was hit by a pitch and both runners advanced when fourth-year junior shortstop Matt Staker (El Cajon, Calif./Saint Augustine) was also hit by a pitch to load the bases. Kilpatrick would then uncork a wild pitch that allowed Kent to score the tying run. 

Wartburg would break the tie in the ninth as they scored three times, including a two-run double down the right field line by William Armstrong off of Padilla to take a 5-2 lead. In the inning, Padilla allowed three and walked two, including walking one intentionally, while fourth-year junior Jake Anderson (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) replaced Padilla after he walked JoJo McNair and got out of the jam by forcing Keaton Gray to hit into a double play.

The Gorloks made things interesting in the ninth as they loaded the bases against Kilpatrick and used a pinch hit RBI single by second-year freshman infielder Dylan Coleman (Chicago, Ill./Notre Dame College Prep) to pull within a run at 5-3. After Kilpatrick uncorked a wild pitch to put runners on second and third, the rain began to fall hard and the game was delayed for about 11 minutes. After the delay was over, Wartburg took Kilpatrick out of the game and his successor, Aaron Eybers, would walk the first batter he faced, freshman catcher R.J. LaRocco (San Diego, Calif./Point Loma) to load the bases for graduate student centerfielder Aron Hopp (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln College), who ended the game with a ground out to short. 

In his first career start, Smevoll pitched five-plus innings and allowed five hit and two runs, while walking two and striking out two. Padilla, who earned the loss, went 3.1 innings and allowed three hits and three runs, while walking two and striking out four and Anderson faced one batter, who hit into a double play. 

Kelting, Hayes and Goodhue each had two hits for Wartburg as they finished with eight hits in the win. 

Kilpatrick (1-0) pitched 8.2 innings and allowed six hits and three runs (two earned), while walking two, hitting three and fanning five in his 103-pitch outing. Eybers walked one in his one-third of an inning to pick up the save. 

For the game, both teams left six runners on base and a total of three double plays were turned, including two by Webster. 

The Gorloks will return to action next weekend as they host Wartburg in a 10:30 a.m. game on Saturday, March 6 at GCS Credit Union Ballpark and then will face Benedictine (Ill.) in a doubleheader on Sunday, March 7 beginning at 12 p.m. Benedictine and Wartburg will play a game at 1:30 p.m. following Webster's game on Saturday with Wartburg.