MARION, Ill. – The Hawks have clinched a berth in the GLVC Championship tournament for the 21st time in program history and the 14th straight time dating back to the 2011 season. With an 18-14 conference record, Quincy has earned the sixth seed and will take on the third-seeded Saints of Maryville University on Wednesday (May 6) at 12:30 PM CDT from Mtn. Dew Park in Marion, Illinois.
These two squads faced off against one another in the regular season, with the Saints taking three out of the four games on the Hawks home turf at QU Stadium. The Hawks took game one 9-8 with a walk-off homer from
Isaiah Fudge in the 14th inning. On day two, Maryville swept the doubleheader in two games where offense was limited. The Saints outpitched the Hawks and won games two and three with final scores of 2-0 and 1-0. The final game of the series was a slugfest taken by Maryville after a seven-run eighth inning propelled the Saints to a series victory over the Hawks.
Maryville comes into action with an overall record of 29-20 and 21-10 in the GLVC. Despite a slow start at the beginning of the season for the Saints, they were able to rattle off ten consecutive conference wins in the middle of the season with sweeps over Rockhurst and Southwest Baptist. The Saints have found success in their pitching staff, as they post a GLVC-best 5.15 ERA in conference behind Braden Smith, Ben Gregory, and Ty Rauser, three pitchers that the Hawks faced in the series earlier this season. The Maryville staff is tied for first with 95 walks in the conference (3.5 BB/9) and second in punchouts with 272 (10.2 K/9). The Maryville offense is led by true freshman Jace Burton, who leads the team with a .377 batting average, and Ambrose Russo, who bats .335 and has rattled off 29 extra-base hits for the Saints. Graduate student Cole Christman is another bat to look out for, as he leads the team with 41 RBIs and 12 home runs, with two of those coming in the series against Quincy.
Quincy will have its hands full with the Maryville pitching staff, but the Hawks offense has been one of the most dangerous in the conference behind the bats of
Matt Mateo and
David Broughton. Since entering conference play, Quincy is top-five in the GLVC with 240 runs scored (7.5 runs per game), 309 hits, 52 home runs, a .521 slugging percentage, 524 total bases, and 65 stolen bases. The Hawks offense has proven to give a pitching staff nightmares and can put up runs on any staff.
However, the QU pitching staff is not to be overlooked, especially after coming off their best weekend of the year. The Hawks surrendered just six earned runs in the series against Truman, good for a 1.69 ERA as a team. It might not be until day two when we see
Roman Harrison on the mound, but he has arguably been one of the best pitchers in the conference since transitioning to a starter. In six conference starts, Harrison has tossed 37.2 innings and given up 13 earned runs, giving him an ERA of 3.15 to go along with 42 strikeouts. With the tournament being double elimination, it will be all hands on deck for both staffs.
This matchup between the two teams is more than a first-round matchup, it is a rematch of the championship game from last year in the GLVC Championship Tournament, where the Saints halted the Hawks's legendary run with an 11-1 victory. This will be the third matchup between the two programs in the GLVC Championship Tournament, with the Hawks winning the other matchup in 2023 with a 12-8 victory in the semifinals.
The Hawks will be looking for the program's sixth GLVC Championship in program history, with the last one coming in the historic 2023 season. The bracket can be viewed below, along with other information regarding the 2025 Baseball Championship Tournament. Tickets must be purchased in advance online, as no cash will be accepted on site, and admittance into the ballpark will begin one hour prior to the first game.
2025 GLVC Baseball Tournament Hub
GLVC Championship Tournament Bracket
Purchase Tickets
