The Journal

Issue date: 4/5/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Jeff Curry The Webster baseball team hangs out under a rainbow outside GCS Stadium March 31. The Gorloks were scheduled to play a doubleheader against Westminster College, but the game was canceled due to bad weather.

To say members of the Gorlok baseball team couldn't wait to start the conference season seems like a bit of an understatement.


In the first conference series April 1, the Gorlok offense exploded to tally 31 runs in two games against the MacMurray College Highlanders.


Junior Wes Hilliard picked up the win in the first game, as the Gorloks bested MacMurray 11-3. Hilliard's record is now at 5-0, best in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.


Junior Ben Helton was the intended starter for the second game, but soreness kept him from pitching his scheduled start. Instead, junior Eric McKinley got the start and the win as the Gorloks pummeled the Highlanders 21-7.


A number of players had big offensive days, including junior outfielder Dave Umfleet, who went 6-7 on the day with a home run. Senior Preston Gross added a home run, while junior Greg Steen continued his offensive production with a grand slam.


Head Coach Bill Kurich said he was pleased with the results.


"It was a good day," Kurich said. "We got ahead early, and were able to get a number of guys some at-bats and some playing time. It's nice to get those wins every once in a while when you're not sweating it out."


Still, Kurich said he would like to see improvement in areas other than offense, citing a few sloppy plays in the series.


"We made a couple mistakes defensively," Kurich said. "And when we get down the road to the level we want to be at, those things will hurt us. So, there's a lot of things we need to clean up."


MacMurray touched McKinley for five runs in the second game, and picked up the other two off junior Mike Sartore in his one inning of relief.


Kurich said allowing seven runs was enough to be concerned about.


"It can't happen," Kurich said. "It didn't seem that bad since we scored 21, but any other day you give up seven is not a very good day."


The Gorlok starting rotation continues to take shape after McKinley's win, as he slides into the fourth rotation spot, at least for now. He is scheduled to pitch April 7 at Lincoln Christian College. Hilliard cemented his spot further after his fifth win, and juniors Ryan Driskill and James Powell were the scheduled pitchers for the April 4 series at Westminster.


Offensively, the Gorloks are lighting up the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Three hitters are leading the conference in batting average, among players with at least 30 at-bats. Sophomore Alex Raetzloff and Steen are among the everyday players high on the offensive leaderboards, including Raetzloff's .456 average through 57 at-bats.


The Gorloks suffered another rainout of the Westminster series April 3. The games were rescheduled for 3 p.m. April 4 at Westminster.

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