Quincy native comes in to shut door for Maryville as Hawks fall into three-way tie for sixth in GLVC
QUINCY, Ill. — A seven-run second inning put the Quincy University baseball team in a good position to salvage a split of a four-game series with Maryville on Sunday.
A seven-run eighth inning by the Saints put the Hawks’ postseason hopes in danger, and Quincy native Noah Harbin was one of the few pitchers for either side to enjoy much success on Sunday afternoon at QU Stadium.
Maryville and Quincy combined for 26 hits and 20 walks, with the Saints winning 17-14. Harbin threw two scoreless innings of relief to earn his fourth save this season. Of the 17 pitchers used in the game, he was the only one to throw more than one inning and not give up a run.
By winning three out of four games in the series, Maryville clinched a spot in the GLVC tournament. It is in third place in the Great Lakes Valley Conference standings with a 20-8 record. The Hawks, 21-25 overall and 14-14 in the GLVC, are in a three-way tie for sixth place with Missouri S&T and UMSL. Upper Iowa (15-17), Rockhurst (13-15) and McKendree (13-15) are all one game behind the three teams tied for eighth.
Maryville led 2-0 when the Hawks scored seven runs in the second. Jake Vitale singled up the middle to drive in two runs, breaking a 15-inning streak of scoreless baseball by the Hawks. A bases-loaded walk to Jack Haggard forced in a run, and Ben Dahlof drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. David Broughton then cleared the bases with a double.
Maryville scored once in the third, but Vitale hit an RBI double in the fourth. The Saints then tied the score in the fifth, collecting four hits in the inning, a hit batter, two walks and five stolen bases. The Hawks regained the lead in the bottom of the inning with a sacrifice fly.
A Maryville homer tied the score in the sixth, but Matt Mateo’s 14th homer, a three-run shot, put Quincy ahead 12-9 in the bottom of the sixth. Vitale’s double to right scored two runs in the seventh for the Hawks.
The Saints scored seven runs in the eighth to take the lead for good, using three hits, four walks, a hit batter and an error. Maryville added another run with a solo homer in the ninth. The Hawks used nine pitchers in the game.
Vitale had three hits for Quincy, and Mateo and Broughton had two each. Vitale and Broughton both drove in four runs.
The Hawks went down in order in the ninth to end the game. They will head to Truman State next weekend for a four-game series that begins Thursday.
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