METRO EAST LUTHERAN 11-2, HARDIN-CALHOUN 10-1:

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EDWARDSVILLE - Metro East Lutheran got a pair of homers from Eli Jacobs and two doubles from Paul Kubicek to get past Hardin-Calhoun 11-10, then Jake Jump avoided a pickoff at second and stole third, then scored in the bottom of the seventh to give the Knights a 2-1 win and a Saturday doubleheader sweep of Hardin-Calhoun at Martin Luther Field in Edwardsville.

The wins evened the Knights' record at 2-2 after dropping season-opening decisions to Belleville West and Mascoutah earlier in the week.

In the opener, the Knights scored seven times in the bottom of the fourth to take a 11-6 lead after the lead changed hands three times prior to MEL's fourth at-bat. The Warriors countered with four in the top of the fifth, but Knight pitching shut down Calhoun to preserve the win.

In the nightcap, Kubicek gave MEL the lead with a solo homer, but the Warriors countered with a Mitch Bick RBI single in the top of the seventh to tie the game, leading to Jump's heroics to win the game for the Knights.

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Kubicek had two RBIs to with his two doubles in the opener while Jacobs had six RBIs; his homers were both three-run shots. Jordan Brown was 3-for-4 for MEL, with Mikey Coulson going 2-for-3 and Noah Coddington 2-for-3 as well. Coulson got the win, tossing four innings while giving up six earned runs and eight hits with three walks and a strikeout; Jump had a perfect seventh to get the save and Reed Harmon threw two innings, giving up three earned runs on four hits and two walks while fanning four.

Kubicek was 1-for-3 with the homer and got the win, going the distance while giving up an earned run and seven hits while walking nine and striking out seven. Jump was 1-for-2 with a walk and two stolen bases, while Brown and Reed Harmon were both 1-for-2.

Easton Clark, Sam Baalman, Bick and Wes Klocke and Damian Pohlman were all 1-for-3 for the Warriors, with Klocke getting a double; Connor Gilman was 2-for-3. Pohlman went the distance for Calhoun, conceding two earned runs and four hits while walking two and striking out eight in taking the loss.

MEL hosts Marquette Catholic in a 4:30 p.m. Monday contest.