QUINCY, Ill. – The Hawks dropped an offensive battle to the Saints of Maryville on Senior Day (Apr. 27). The two teams combined for 26 hits to go along with 20 walks from both pitching staffs, but the Saints came away victorious with a 17-14 win over Quincy.

Maryville jumped on the board in the first inning after scoring on a bases-loaded walk. They added another in the top of the second with a run-scoring single to center field to make it 2-0. The Hawks bats answered in a big way with a seven spot in the home half of the second. The offense got rolling with an RBI bloop double from Cole Erickson. Two batters later, Jake Vitale tied the game with a scorching hot single up the middle. The Saints pitching staff gifted the Hawks a run with a bases-loaded walk to Jack Haggard, as the Hawks found their first lead of the game.

After a pitching change with only one out in the second inning, the offense continued as Ben Dahlof drove in the fourth run of the inning with a sacrifice fly to shallow center field. The big inning was finished off with a bases-clearing double from the Hawks RBI leader David Broughton.

The Saints scored a single run for the third straight inning after the Hawks' defense allowed a run to come in via error. Quincy got its lead back up to five in the fourth inning after Vitale hit a frozen rope down the right-field line for an RBI double, making it 8-3.

The game quickly changed in the fifth inning as Maryville put up five runs to tie the ballgame at eight apiece. The Saints had four hits in the inning, added on top of a hit-by-pitch, two walks, and five stolen bases. The Hawks regained the lead in the home half after Broughton drove in his fourth run of the game with a sacrifice fly to right field.

With the Hawks leading 9-8 heading into the sixth, the game was tied up one batter into the inning with a solo shot from the Saints backstop. QU answered in the home half with a home run of their own, except this big fly drove in three runs. Matt Mateo hit his 14th home run of the season with a no-doubt shot to right field as it gave the Hawks a 12-9 lead through six.

Quincy extended its lead to five as Vitale drove in a pair with another double down the right-field line. Heading to the top of the eighth and the Hawks up 14-9, Maryville put up another crooked number. Seven runs came to the plate in the inning on three hits, four walks, a hit-by-pitch, and an error. The big swing came from the Saint's designated hitter, as he hit a go-ahead three-run homer over the left-center wall. 

Leading 16-14 in the final frame, the Saints added insurance with their third home run of the game, a solo home run to left center. The Hawks's offense went down quietly in the home half, going 1-2-3 to end the series finale. 

With the Saints taking three out of four in the series, they clinched a spot in the GLVC tournament and currently sit third place in the GLVC standings with a 20-8 conference record. They will finish their season on the road against UMSL with a chance to move up in the standings. For the Hawks, they now sit with an overall record of 21-25, 14-14 in the GLVC, which has them in a three-way tie for 6th place with Missouri S&T and UMSL.

The Hawks will head to Kirksville for a four-game series to wrap up the regular season. Quincy will look to secure its playoff spot with wins against the Bulldogs, with game one scheduled for Thursday (May 1) at 3:00 PM CDT.