ALTON, Ill. – The 2022 NCAA Division III Baseball Alton Regional kicked off this afternoon at Lloyd Hopkins Field in Alton, Illinois, where the Webster (Mo.) University Gorloks played host to the Crown (Minn.) College Polars in the first game of pool play. The Gorloks defeated the Polars by a final score of 9-7 to advance in the winners bracket.

The Gorloks finished the game with 15 hits while the Polars finished with 12. Webster recorded one error in the contest while Crown College finished with two in the game.

Webster got off to a hot start in this one as they scored four runs in the bottom of the first. Adam Lovell scored on an error by the centerfielder to give the Gorloks a 1-0 lead. Ben Swords added to the Gorloks lead in the next at-bat of the game when he hit a two-run homerun to left field to give Webster a 3-0 advantage. Zach Goodman completed the rally for the Gorloks as he hit an RBI single to right field to give Webster a 4-0 advantage heading into the second.

The Polars had a tough time getting anything going through the first few innings of the game, but a sacrifice bunt from Aaron Clogston in the top of the fifth cut the lead to 4-1. They added four runs in the top of the sixth thanks to a two-run homerun from Kyle Schroedle and a two-run homerun from Rhys Dewick to take a 5-4 lead in the contest.

Webster rallied for five runs in the bottom of the seventh to take a 9-5 lead, but two runs from the Polars in the top of the eighth cut the Gorloks lead to 9-7 in the game. The Gorloks closed out the Polars in the final innings to solidify the win.
 

Gorlok Pitching Stats		IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	AB	BF
Alek Elges		6.0	6	5	5	1	9	24	26
Ben Kowalski (W, 10-1)		3.0	6	2	2	1	1	13	14
Polars Pitching Stats	IP		H	R	ER	BB	SO	AB	BF
Tyler Vancise	6.2		11	7	7	4	6	29	33
Jacob Van Dam (L, 1-3)	0.1		2	2	2	0	0	3	4
Mason Brock	1.0		2	0	0	0	0	5	6

 
Ben Swords and Parker Wielt led the way at the plate for Webster as they both finished with four hits in the game. Swords also added two RBI in the contest. In addition, Zach Goodman went 2-for-4 with three RBI, Aron Hopp went 2-for-4 with two RBI, and Matt Staker added an RBI.

The Polars had three players finish with three hits including Kyle Schroedle who went 3-for-5 with two RBI, Jack Becker who went 3-for-4 with an RBI, and Seth Betts who went 3-for-4 with two runs scored. In addition, Rhys Dewick went 2-for-3 with two RBI and Alejandro Molina added an RBI.

The Gorloks will play their next game of the Alton Regional on Saturday, May 21^st when they take on the winner of the second game of the day between College of Wooster (Ohio) and Bethel (Minn.) College. The game will take place at 5 p.m. CST at Lloyd Hopkins Field in Alton, Illinois.

The Polars will their play their next game of the Alton Regional on Saturday, May 21^st against the loser of the second game of the day between College of Wooster (Ohio) and Bethel (Minn.) College. The game will take place at 2 p.m. CST.