ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Spalding baseball team fell to Webster in two games Friday evening, 4-3 and 13-3, in the best-of-three SLIAC Championship series. With the loss the Eagles fall to 29-15 on the season.
 
GAME ONE: Webster 4 – Spalding 3
The Gorloks got on the board in the second inning to take a 2-0 lead on a Landon Vahle two-RBI double. The Eagles answered in the fifth, plating a pair of runs to tie the game, 2-2. Jace Pinkston reached on a leadoff walk and Marcus Collins followed with a single. Following a Mitchell Langley strikeout, Evan Trentman walked to load the bases with one out and an Eric Meyer fielder's choice brought in Pinkston for SU's first run of the game. Trentman scored the tying run on a Dyden Schroeder single through the left side. Spalding scored in the sixth inning to take a 3-2 lead. Michael Speck walked to lead off the inning, advanced to second on a Zane Baker sacrifice bunt and scored on a Marcus Collins single through the left side to put the Eagles in front. After a three-up, three-down bottom of the seventh the Eagles were two innings away from taking game one. However, the Gorloks scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth to retake the lead, 4-3, on an A.J. Smith two-RBI double and the Eagles failed to plate the equalizer in the ninth falling, 4-3.
 
Reliever, Zach Vogt (3-3) suffered the loss allowing 2 runs, on 3 hits, while striking out 2 batters in 2.0 innings pitched. Starting pitcher Jack Parisi held the Gorloks to 2 runs, scattered 4 hits and struck out 5 batters in 6.0 innings of action. Trentman led Spalding at the plate going a perfect 4-for-4 for the game. Schroeder finished 3-for-5 with an RBI and Marcus Collins was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base.
 
GAME TWO: Webster 13 – Spalding 3
The Gorloks struck first, scoring a run on a Smith single up the middle. Spalding answered in the top of the second to tie the game, 1-1. Speck opened the inning with a leadoff double and Baker singled to the shortstop to give SU two on with no outs. Speck would be called out on a Pinkston sac bunt that would move Baker to second. A Langley double down the line brought in Baker for the tying run knotting the score, 1-1. After a four-run bottom of the second put Webster ahead, 5-1. SU cut the deficit to three with a run in the third on a Speck single that scored Trentman from second. However, the Gorloks added four more runs on a Ben Swords grand slam in the bottom of the fourth as Webster scored eight unanswered runs over the next three innings to take a 13-2 lead into seventh. In the eighth, Spalding loaded the bases with no outs, but the Gorloks got out of the jam turning a double play that scored Schroeder to make the final, 13-3.
 
Caleb Collins (7-2) suffered the loss, allowing 8 runs, 5 earned, on 7 hits, in 3.1 innings pitched. Speck led Spalding at the plate in game two going 3-for-4 with an RBI and a double. Baker finished 2-for-3, while Eric Meyer and Mitchell Langley each with 2-for-5.
 
At the conclusion of the tournament, Spalding's Evan Trentman, Jack Parisi and Mitchell Langley were named to the SLIAC All-Tournament team.
 
While the Eagles did not capture the SLIAC's automatic bid to an NCAA Regional, they are eligible for a Pool-C bid which will be determined Monday by the selection committee.