PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – The 23^rd ranked Webster University baseball team was back in action this afternoon when they took on Kean (N.J.) University and Marietta (Ohio) College for their first two games of their spring break trip. The Gorloks split the doubleheader as they fell to Kean by a final score of 7-4 and then bounced back to beat Marietta by a final score of 9-8 (10 inn.) to improve to 6-3 on the season.

In their first game against Kean, the Cougars got on the board first as they scored a run in the bottom of the first inning to take an early lead. They would add two runs in the second and a run in the third and held a 4-0 lead midway through the game. Webster's bats came alive in the top of the fifth as they rallied for four runs to cut the lead to 5-4 late in the contest. The Cougars would answer with two more runs in the bottom of the eighth and then closed out the Gorloks down the stretch to solidify the win.

Kevin Corcoran (1-1) was the starting pitcher in this one as he allowed six hits and four earned runs while striking out four in 4.2 innings. Wes Cunningham pitched in relief of Corcoran and allowed just one hit and one earned run while striking out two over the next three innings. Joel Arsenault picked up the final out for Webster after allowing a hit and an earned run.

Webster put together eight hits in the contest. Parker Murrow and Evan Evola led the way for the Gorloks as they each went 2-for-4 with an RBI. In addition, R.J. LaRocco went 1-for-3 with an RBI and Nathaniel Martinez also added an RBI.

In their second game of the day, Marietta got on the board first as they scored a run in the bottom of the first to take a 1-0 lead. The Gorloks would answer back in the top of the third as they rallied for two runs to take a 2-1 lead in the game. Karl Peters would add to Webster's lead in the top of the fifth after blasting a solo homerun (3) to left field to extend the Gorloks lead to 3-1 midway through the contest. The Pioneers would cut the lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth, but an RBI double from Parker Murrow in the top of the seventh extended the Gorloks lead to 4-2 late in the game. The Pioneers would take the lead with three runs in the bottom of the seventh, but a solo homerun (1) from R.J. LaRocco in the top of the eighth tied the score at five. AJ Simmons would break the tie in the top of the ninth with a three-run double, but the Pioneers would tie the game in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extras. Karl Peters would hit a sacrifice fly to take the lead in the top of the 10^th and Webster picked up the final three outs of the game to solidify the win.

Ryan Greifelt got the start in this one as he allowed nine hits and two earned runs while striking out three in 6.2 innings. Caleb Zbrozek and Elijah Rompala-Matthews (1-0) pitched the next 2.1 innings for the Gorloks as they allowed two hits and three earned runs while striking out four. Jordan Smevoll recorded the save for Webster after striking out two in the final inning.

Webster put together 12 hits in the win. Karl Peters and R.J. LaRocco led the way at the plate as they each went 2-for-4 with Peters recording three RBI and LaRocco recording one. In addition, James Theodore went 2-for-5 with an RBI, Parker Murrow went 1-for-2 with an RBI, and A.J. Simmons went 1-for-1 with three RBI.

The Gorloks will return to the diamond on Sunday, March 10^th when they take on Benedictine (Ill.) University for a nonconference matchup. The game is set to start at 3:45 p.m. EST in Davenport, Florida.