SAUGET, Ill. - The No. 3 ranked Webster Baseball team improved to 2-1 on the season here Saturday afternoon following a 5-3 victory over Wartburg College in the opening game of the BSN Sports/Webster Classic at GCS Credit Union Ballpark. 

Webster's win was aided by a five run sixth inning that turned a 1-0 deficit into a 5-1 run lead and also was able to make a winner out of the All-American graduate student pitcher Matt Mulhearn (Chicago Heights, Ill./Marian Catholic), who started for the second straight weekend against the Knights. 

After tossing eight innings and allowing two hits and striking out 14 in his 5-0 win last Saturday against Wartburg, Mulhearn wasn't as effective in Saturday's start as he pitched six innings and allowed six hits and one run, while walking two and fanning seven in his 107-pitch outing. Mulhearn threw 116 pitches in the first outing against Wartburg. 

With the win, Mulhearn, who has an 0.64 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 14 innings this season, moved into a tie with Dylan Dean Smith for second place on the school's all-time win list with 24 victories and moved within 10 strikeouts of the school's all-time career strikeout mark of 257, which is held by Isaac Behme (2012-15). 

After not scoring a run against Mulhearn last Saturday, the Knights used a walk, a double by Parker Ridge and an RBI on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Ethan Hayes to take a 1-0 lead. 

The Knights put the lead off hitter on in the second on an infield single, but that runner would eventually be stranded at third and in the third inning, Mulhearn allowed back-to-back singles to open the inning, but Mulhearn would battle his out of trouble by not allowing either of two runners to score.

After being held without hit through the first three innings against Wartburg hurler Dylan Gotto, the Gorloks would record his first hit of the game in the fourth on a lead-off single by second-year freshman Landon Vahle (Lee's Summit, Mo./St. Michael Archangel). 

The Knights and Gorloks would each record a hit in the fifth and after the Knights put a runner on base on a one-out single, the Gorloks offense woke up in the bottom of the sixth as they scored five runs on four hits and a Wartburg error. 

In the sixth, fourth-year junior Adam Lovell (Lafayette, Ind./Saint Joseph's College) led off the frame with a single down the left field line and Vahle would follow with an RBI triple to right center to tie the game. Fourth-year junior All-American third baseman Ben Swords (Freeport, Ill./Freeport) followed with an RBI single to first that gave WU a 2-1 lead and after graduate student first baseman Kyler Kent (Pottsboro, Texas/Pottsboro) reached on a single to put runners on first and third, third-year sophomore second baseman Mitch Daniels (Columbia, Ill./Columbia) gave the Gorloks a 3-1 lead on his sacrifice fly to right. Fourth-year junior shortstop Matt Staker (El Cajon, Calif./Saint Augustine) walked and Kent would then score an unearned run when freshman catcher R.J. LaRocco (San Diego, Calif./Point Loma) reached on a throwing error by third baseman Keaton Gray. Staker would then score the fifth run of the inning as Staker stole home and LaRocco stole second to complete a double steal. 

Freshman Alek Elges (Littleton, Colo./J.T. Mullen) took over Mulhearn in the seventh and threw just four pitches to retire the Knights in order and he would then retire the side in the eighth. In three innings this season, Elges has an 0.00 ERA as he hasn't allowed a base runner. 

The Gorloks would put a runner on second with two outs thanks to a single by freshman second baseman Bo Slaymaker (Johnstown, Colo./Roosevelt) and an error by Wartburg first baseman Ben DuKruyf, but Joey Ciero, who replaced Gotto to open the inning, would get out of the jam by inducing Staker to line out to center. 

Wartburg (1-2) would make things interesting in the ninth as they sent seven batters to the plate and scored two runs on two hits off of two Gorlok relievers - third-year sophomore Nick Heiden (Minooka, Ill./St. Laurence) and fourth-year junior Andrew Padilla (Burbank, Ill./Reavis). In the inning, DeKruyf drew a one-out walk by Heiden and after Carter Stubitz lined out for the second out, Gray would follow with a single to right center and then Heiden would load the bases on a walk issued to William Armstrong. That walk chased Heiden from the game and brought Padilla into the game. Faced with the bases loaded and two outs, Padilla would be greeted with an RBI single to right by Jo Jo McNair to cut WU's lead to 5-2. The next Knight batter, Max Goodhue, drew a bases loaded walk from Padilla to push the Knights within 5-3. Padilla, though, would seal his first save of the season by inducing Ridge to hit in a fielder's choice to end the game. 

Webster finished with seven hits in the game as Vahle had two of those hits and they also recorded three stolen bases. 

Wartburg added eight hits, including McNair going 3-for-5 at the plate for the Knights. 

Gotto (0-2) tossed seven innings and allowed six hits and five runs (three earned), while walking two and striking out six. 

The teams combined to leave 14 runners on base as Wartburg stranded nine and Webster left five on base. 

Webster will conclude play in the BSN Sports/Webster Classic on Sunday, March 7 with a doubleheader beginning at 10:30 a.m. against Benedictine (Ill.) University. Benedictine opened its 2021 season with a 7-2 loss on Saturday to Wartburg in the second game of the BSN Sports/Webster Classic.