Strong Pitching Carries UMSL to Sweep

Sahrmann, Bierling Each Pitch Complete Game Wins

St. Louis, Mo. – The UMSL baseball team opened their conference season on Saturday with two pitching gems, winning 5-1 and 7-0 in a doubleheader sweep of visiting Lewis University. The Rivermen improve their record to 11-2 on the season and open up the GLVC season with a 2-0 record.

UMSL got on the board first in the opening game with two runs in the third inning. Jim Reiter knocked in the first run with an infield grounder and Doug Wiles then scored on a double steal. Lewis pulled to within one in the fifth after an RBI single by Jimmy Karr. The Rivermen put the game out of reach with three runs in the fifth inning. Logan Hughes provided the big hit with a bases loaded, two-run single for a 5-1 UMSL lead. That was all the cushion needed by UMSL starter Kevin Sahrmann as he went the distance, giving up one run on four hits and striking out four in the complete game win.

Pitching was again the story for UMSL in the second game as Greg Bierling pitched a complete game shutout for a 7-0 win. Bierling held Lewis to just five hits in the game and struck out six while walking none in nine innings, as no Lewis runners made it to third base in the game. Only twice, in the first and seventh innings, did the Flyers have two base runners on at the same time. UMSL got the first run in the opening inning as Bryan Weiss hit a two-out triple and then scored on a balk for the games only run in the first five innings. In the sixth, UMSL added a little cushion for Bierling, scoring four times in the inning. The first two runs of the inning scored after a throwing error, then Weiss knocked in another run with a sacrifice fly. Jason Barron then had an RBI single later in the inning for a 5-0 UMSL lead. The Rivermen added two more runs in the seventh, as Weiss again came through with a two-run single for the 7-0 UMSL win.

In the first game, Logan Hughes was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Doug Wiles was 1-for-3 and scored twice. In the second game, Bryan Weiss was 2-for-3 with one run and three RBIs and Scott Miller was 2-for-2 with two runs scored.

UMSL is now 11-2 on the season and will be at home again on Sunday afternoon. The Rivermen will host Lewis in another doubleheader starting at 12 noon.