SAUGET, Ill. - After splitting a doubleheader on Saturday against Spalding University, the No. 3 ranked Webster baseball team rebounded on Sunday to sweep both ends of a doubleheader from the Golden Eagles at GCS Credit Union Ballpark and in turn take three of four games in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series from Spalding. 

In Sunday's doubleheader, the Gorloks opened the day with a 3-1 victory and then held on a 4-3 win in the nightcap. With the two wins, Webster improves to 13-3 overall and 9-1 in the SLIAC, while Spalding falls to 7-8 overall and 5-3 in the league. 

In Sunday's opener, second-year freshman Jordan Smevoll (Dyer, Ind./.Marian Catholic) turned in a stellar start on the mound in the first game as he pitched six innings and allowed just five hits and one run, while walking three and striking out three to improve his record to 3-0 on the season. Freshman Alek Elges (Littleton, Colo./J.K. Mullen) finished the game by retiring all three batters he faced in the seventh to earn his team-leading third save of the year.

Meanwhile, the Gorloks got all the offense they needed in the fifth inning of Sunday's first game as they three hits and a hit batsman to plate three runs to take a 3-1 lead in the game off of Spalding hurler Peyton Hood. The two biggest plays in the inning was a RBI sacrifice bunt with two strikes that was placed between the mound and first base by fourth-year junior shortstop Matt Staker (El Cajon, Calif./Saint Augustine) and the other big play in the inning was an RBI single to center by fifth-year senior centerfielder Aron Hopp (Lincoln, Ill./Lincoln College) that gave the Gorloks its two-run lead. 

Hood was strong early on in the game as he retired the first 12 Gorloks he faced in order heading to the fifth inning when fifth-year senior All-American first baseman Kyler Kent (Pottsboro, Texas/Pottsboro) broke up the perfect game with a lead-off single to open the fifth. Kent would eventually score the Gorloks first run on a sacrifice fly off the bat of second-year freshman leftfielder Landon Vahle (Lee's Summit, Mo./St. Michael Archangel). 

Hood would toss all six innings and allow five hits and three runs, while striking out four and walking none in his 70 pitch outing.

Spalding scored first in Sunday's opener as they recorded three straight hits with one out in the third inning with the third hit being an RBI single by Spalding senior All-American shortstop Eric Meyer. 

The Gorloks would put two more runners on base in the bottom of the sixth thanks to singles by freshman catcher R.J. LaRocco (San Diego, Calif./Point Loma) and Kent, but Hood would leave Kent stranded as LaRocco was thrown out at third on a double steal attempt by the Gorloks. 

Kent had two of Webster's five hits in the first game. 

The Golden Eagles got one hit apiece from five different players. 

Meanwhile, in the nightcap, Webster got 4.2 strong innings from fourth-year junior Sean Beaver (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch), who was making his second start of the 2021 season. In his second start, Beaver allowed just one hit and two unearned runs, while walking one and striking out seven. Beaver retired the first 12 Spalding hitters he faced in order, including striking out the side in the second inning. 

Beaver was given a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth thanks to a grand slam off the bat of fifth-year senior designated hitter A,J, Smith (DuQuoin, Ill./DuQuoin). Smith took a 1-1 pitch from Zach Vogt and deposited over the fence in right for his team-leading third homer of the season. In the inning, LaRocco, fourth-year and junior All-American third baseman Ben Swords (Freeport, Ill./Freeport) both reached on singles and Kent drew a on a 3-2 count by Vogt, who replaced starter Garrett Mathews after he took a ball hit by Swords off the lower leg one batter earlier. 

Staked to a 4-0 lead, Beaver got into some trouble in the fifth as after hee retired two of the first three hitters in the inning, before allowing a single to JT Johnson and then he loaded the bases after hitting Zane Baker with a pitch. The hit batsman to Baker ended Beaver's day as he was replaced on the mound by fourth-year junior Jake Anderson (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) and Anderson would fail to record an out as he allowed a run to score on a failed pickoff attempt at second base and then he would walk the only two hitters he faced, including walking Michael Newcom with the bases loaded to give Spalding its second run of the game. After the walk to Newsom, Elges would replace Anderson on the mound and get out of the jam by forcing Evan Trentman to ground out to end the inning.

Elges (1-1) would pitch the sixth and seventh innings and allow only one hit and no runs, while walking one and striking out one to pick up his first win of the season, before third-year sophomore Joey Marko (Winfield, Mo./Winfield) take over in the eighth. 

The Golden Eagles would pull within a run in the top of the eighth as they used a single, a walk and a fielder's choice grounder to score a run to move within 4-3. Marko, though, would prevent further damage by striking out pinch hitter Jacob Spanyer and forcing Johnson to pop out to third-year sophomore second baseman Mitch Daniels (Columbia, Ill./Columbia) to end the inning.

Marko would then pitch around a lead off single to Marcus Collins to open the ninth en route to picking up his first save of the season. Marko would toss two innings and allow two hits and one run, while walking one and fanning one. 

Webster collected 10 hits in the nightcap as Staker went 3-for-3 at the plate, while Swords also had three hits in four at-bats and Daniels added two hits.

Spalding finished with four hits in the second game. 

Both teams committed an error and each team turned a double play. 

In addition, the two teams combined to leave 13 runners on base as Spalding stranded seven and Webster left six on base.

The Gorloks will return to action on Tuesday, March 30 as they host Westminster (Mo.) College in a SLIAC doubleheader scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. at GCS Credit Union Ballpark. The game was originally scheduled for March 17, but was postponed and rescheduled due to the weather.