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.
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.