CARLINVILLE, Ill. - The No. 3/No. 8 ranked Webster Baseball team extended its win streak to nine consecutive games here Monday as the Gorloks swept a doubleheader from Blackburn College in St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action at Blackburn Park. 

Webster opened Monday's doubleheader by posting a 6-5 win in the first game, before rallying to earn a 6-4 win in 10 innings in the nightcap to complete the sweep the doubleheader and complete the series sweep. 

With Monday's two wins, Webster improves to 10-1 overall and 6-0 in the SLIAC, while Blackburn falls to 0-8 overall and 0-8 in the league. 

For the doubleheader, Webster's offense recorded 14 hits and scored 12 runs as freshman catcher R.J. LaRocco (San Diego, Calif./Point Loma), graduate student All-American first baseman Kyler Kent (Pottsboro, Texas/Pottsboro) and fourth-year junior rightfielder Adam Lovell (Lafayette, Ind./Saint Joseph's College) each had three hits. Fourth-year junior All-American third baseman Ben Swords (Freeport, Ill./Freeport) scored three runs, had two hits and fifth-year senior designated hitter A.J. Smith (DuQuoin, Ill./DuQuoin) scored four runs and had a hit, which was a home run in the first inning of the nightcap. 

The Gorloks also drew 10 walks, including three issued to Lovell and Webster was 2-for-3 on stolen bases. 

Along with its offense, the Gorloks also got two strong starting pitching performances as second-year freshman Jordan Smevoll (Dyer, Ind./Marian Catholic) pitched five innings and allowed three hits and one runs, while walking three and striking out six and then fourth-year junior Sean Beaver (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch) made his first start of the season and pitched into the fifth inning and allowed three hits and two unearned runs, while walking three and striking out eight in the nightcap. 

Blackburn committed eight errors that led to eight unearned runs for the Gorloks, while Webster had three errors, all of which came in the nightcap that led to four unearned runs. 

The teams left a combined 38 runners on the base in the doubleheader as Webster stranded 21 and Blackburn left, inclduing stranding a combined 27 runners on base in the nightcap. 

Game 1: No. 3 Webster 6, Blackburn 5
The Gorloks opened Monday's first game by jumping in front 3-0 in the first inning. In the inning, LaRocco singled with one out, moved to second when Swords was hit by a pitch and after the runners advanced a base on a wild pitch by Blackburn pitcher Sammy Gordon, Smith walked to load the bases. Gordon would then uncork another wild pitch that allowed LaRocco to score the game's first run and Gordon then tossed another wild pitch that scored Swords with the second run and Kent completed the scoring on a sacrifice fly to left. 

Blackburn would add a run in the bottom of the third off of Smevoll as Jaoson Erivez recordded a single and Adam Holm followed with an RBI double to cut Webster's lead to 3-1. 

Smevoll. who was making his third start of the season, would pitch five innings and allow just three hit and one run, while walking three and striking out six to earn his first win of the season as he is 1-0 on the season. 

The Gorloks would give Smevoll some insurance runs in the top of the fifth as they used an error, a hit, a balk and a hit batsman to plate two runs. In the inning, Smith reached on an error by Blackburn first baseman Mitchell Binder to open the inning and then Kent followed with a double to put runners on second and third with no outs. Fifth-year senior Garrett Davis (Geneva, Ill./Elgin CC), who was running for Smith, would score the first run of the inning on a balk by Gordon. Kent would move to third on the balk and score a little later in the inning on a sacrifice bunt from fourth-year junior shortstop Matt Staker (El Cajon, Calif./Saint Augustine). 

Freshman Alek Elges (Littleton, Colo./J.K. Mullen) would continue his strong pitching out of the bullpen as he pitched a perfect sixth inning as he struck out all three Beaver hitters he faced. 

Webster pushed in front 6-1 in the top of the seventh as Lovell led off the inning with a single, stole second, moved to third on an error by Blackburn pitcher Kyle Sanders and scored a run on a sacrifice fly off the bat of LaRocco. 

Entering the bottom of the seventh inning, the Gorloks led 6-1, but the Beavers would rally to score four runs in the inning off of Elges and fifth-year senior pitcher Cooper Hake (Lincoln, Ill./IU-South Bend), including scoring a run on an Elges wild pitch, before junior Bryce Meyer (Bartonville, Ill./Carl Sandburg College) relieved Hake and would record the final two outs with the tying run on third base to seal his first career save. 

Lovell went 2-for-2 in the opener with a run scored and he drew two walks, while four other Gorloks recorded a hit as Webster finished with six hits in the game. 

Blackburn also had six hits as Erivez and Holm each had two hits in the loss. 

Gordon (0-1) took the loss on the mound for the Beavers as he allowed four hits and five runs (three earned runs), while walking three and striking out two. 

The Beavers defense committed four errors in the game and the teams combined to leave 11 runners on base as Blackburn stranded six and Webster left five on base. 

Game 2: #3 Webster 6, Blackburn 4 (10 innings)
In the nightcap, the Gorloks trailed 4-1 entering the ninth inning, but they rallied to score three runs to tie the game and force extra innings. In the ninth, Swords reached on a one-out error, moved to second when Smith was hit by a pitch and graduate student Aron Hopp (Lincoln, Ill./Lincoln College) would reached on another Blackburn error that plated Swords with a run to pull WU within two runs at 4-2. LaRocco would then load the bases on a single and the next Gorlok hitter, freshman second baseman Bo Slaymaker (Johnstown, Colo./Roosevelt), would be hit by a pitch to score Smith with the second run. Davis would then follow with a fielder's choice that plated Hopp with the tying run. Staker would then walk to reload the bases, but Nolan Rooney, who was the third Blackburn pitcher of the game, would get out of the jam by striking out second-year freshman leftfielder Landon Vahle (Lee's Summit, Mo./St, Michael Archangel). 

The Beavers would load the bases in the bottom of the ninth off of both third-year sophomore pitcher Joey Marko (Winfield, Mo./Winfield) and fourth-year junior Ben Kowalski (Ottawa, Ill./Ottawa Township) but the Beavers wouldn't score after Kowalski struck out Holm and Mitchell Binder to end the inning and send the game into extra innings. 

Webster would use an error, a walk, a wild pitch, a single and a sacrifice fly to score two runs to take a 6-4 lead. In the inning, Swords reached on a one-out single, moved to second on a wild pitch and after Smith walked to put two runners on base, Hopp reached on a error by Blackburn shortstop Zach Knox to plate Swords to give WU a 5-4 lead. Following the error, Rooney would walk LaRocco to load the bases and then fourth-year junior Jake Knoebel (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield) would deliver a pinch-hit sacrifice fly that scored Smith to give the Gorloks a 6-4 lead. 

Blackburn used a lead-off walk and a double by Trevor Platt to put the tying run at second with two outs against Detweiler, before he ended the game by forcing Rooney to pop out to first to seal WU's come-from-behind win. 

Kowalski (1-0), who was the fourth Webster pitcher, tossed two innings and allowed two hits and no runs, while walking two and striking out two to earn his first collegiate win. 

The Gorloks opened the scoring in the nightcap as Smith drilled a pitch from Derek Phillips over the fence in right center for his second home run of the season. 

Blackburn, though, would take a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second off of Beaver as they used two hits and an error by Beaver to score two unearned runs. 

The Beavers would put three runners on base in the fourth inning thanks to a walk and two hit batsmen, before Beaver would get out of the bases loaded jam by picking off Derek Dicker at second base. 

Beaver would pitch into the fifth inning in his first start of the year as he allowed three hits and two unearned runs and struck out eight. 

Fourth year junior Andrew Padilla (Burbank, Ill./Reavis) would replace Beaver on the mound with one out in the fifth and he tossed three innings and allowed one hit and one run, while walking two and striking out two. 

Blackburn pushed its lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the eighth as they scored two runs without the benefit of a hit as the runs scored on an error by LaRocco. 

Kent and LaRocco each had two hits in the nightcap for Webster as they collected eight hits. Swords and Smith combined to score five of Webster's six runs in the nightcap.

Platt and Ryan Lopez each had two hits to pace Blackburn, who recorded seven hits in the second game. 

Rooney (0-1) took the loss for Blackburn as he pitched 1.2 innings and allowed one hits and two unearned runs, while walking three and striking out one. 

The nightcap also featured six hit batsmen as Blackburn hit three and Webster hit three, including two by Beaver. 

Webster will return to action on Wednesday, March 24 as they travel down Big Bend Blvd. for a 2 p.m. non-conference game at preseason sixth-ranked Washington University in St. Louis. The meeting will be the first of five games this season between the two Division III powerhouses.