UMSL Splits at Quincy

Morgan Pitches, Hits UMSL Past Hawks in Opener

Quincy, Ill. – The University of Missouri-St. Louis baseball team rode the pitching arm and the bat of Josh Morgan to beat the Hawks 4-1 in the first game of a conference doubleheader, but fell 10-6 to QU in the second game.

In the opener, UMSL got the first lead of the game with two runs in the third inning. Jake Neely reached on an error by the Hawks that allowed two runs to come home for the 2-0 lead. Quincy would chip into that lead in the fifth, getting an RBI double to make it a one-run game. Josh Morgan then started an UMSL rally in the sixth to give the team a little cushion. Morgan led off with a solo home run, his fourth of the season, for a 3-1 lead. Jeff Luksza would add an RBI single later in the inning for the Rivermen and a 4-1 advantage. Morgan picked up his fourth win of the year, going 5.2 innings and gave up onr run on three hits and struck out five. Matt Tesson pitched the final 1.1 innings without allowing a base runner to pick up his first save of the year.

The second game was a scoring fest in the early innings. UMSL got an RBI single by Ryan Grooms in the first inning, but QU responded with two runs in the bottom half of the first. UMSL came right back in the second with two runs, including a bases loaded walk to Scott Lavelock to regain the lead at 3-2. Quincy then scored three runs in the second and after UMSL got an RBI by Mark Sanders in the top of the third, the Hawks scored twice in the bottom half of the inning for a 7-4 lead after three innings. Quincy opened up their lead with three runs in the sixth. UMSL would try and rally in the eighth, getting a bases loaded walk followed by a hit by pitch to score two more runs for the 10-6 final score.

UMSL is now 11-17 on the season and 10-15 in the GLVC. The Rivermen will be on the road this weekend for a doubleheader at Kentucky Wesleyan on Saturday and Sunday.