St. Edward’s University baseball team had the first game of the annual Battle of the Saints series against the St. Mary’s University Rattlers on April 5 and won 12-9 at home.
St. Edward’s pitcher Jack Granack etched his name into the Hilltoppers’ history books, as he became the program’s all-time leader in career starts with a total of 55.
“It means everything honestly,” Granack said. “Being on the hilltop as long as I’ve been. It’s a real honor.”
St. Mary’s Garrett Brooks soured Granack’s accomplishment early with a solo blast in the top of the first inning to put the Rattlers up 1-0.
The Hilltoppers immediately responded with back-to-back triples by Trevor Sebek and Davis Drewek to tie the game up. Then Lance Little, in his first at-bat after missing 28 games due to an injury, singled through the left side to score Drewek and give the Hilltoppers a 2-1 lead. The Hilltoppers put up seven runs of five hits in the bottom of the first. SEU bounced the Rattlers’ starting pitcher Javie De Alejandro with two outs in the bottom of the first inning.
St. Mary’s freshman Gabe Cook came out of the bullpen and kept the Rattlers alive with 3.1 scoreless innings. St. Mary’s began to chip away with runs in the second and third innings.
Weston Symes reached on a hit-by-pitch to lead off the top of the fifth inning and then stole second base, advancing to third on a passed ball. Sebek drove in Symes on an RBI 6-3 groundout.
Hilltopper catcher Dillon Flores crushed his fifth home run of the year to dead center field with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning to extend the SEU’s lead to 9-3.
The game stopped at the top of the seventh inning when Flores was struck on the backswing of St. Mary’s shortstop Jacob Elizondo. Flores collapsed and had to be taken off the field with the help of emergency medical services and an ambulance.
Play resumed after more than a 20-minute stoppage of action. Elizondo walked, and Brooks hit his second home run to start closing the gap and make it 9-6 for the Hilltoppers. RJ Galvan followed up with a solo home run and, suddenly, St. Mary’s was right back in the game trailing 9-7.
The Hilltoppers responded in the bottom of the eighth inning with a lead-off triple by Ty Murray. Then, Diego Solis knocked in Murray with an RBI single. Three batters later, Hilltoppers left fielder Joel Shea scored Solis on a sacrifice fly to center field. Symes, the ensuing batter, split the gap in right-center field with an RBI double to make it 12-7.
The insurance runs would end up being crucial for the Hilltoppers, when St. Mary’s first baseman Easton Parrish sprayed an opposite-field 2-run home run to left field to trim the deficit to three runs. Still, the Hilltoppers would hold on for a 12-9 victory. Granack wins his third game of the year.
