LCU splits doubleheader at No. 4 St. Edward's
AUSTIN — Ryan Markwardt threw a one-hitter in the seven-inning first game of a doubleheader Saturday, leading Lubbock Christian University to a 10-1 victory over No. 4 St. Edward's in Lone Star Conference baseball.
Ryan Ball and Eduardo Acosta backed Markwardt with three-run homers and Jarred Gibson hit a two-run shot. The long balls gave LCU an 8-0 lead after four innings, and Acosta tacked on a two-run single in the seventh.
Markwardt (5-4), a junior lefthander from Itasca, struck out five, walked four and finished with 91 pitches. He lost his shutout in the seventh when Cullen Ainsworth doubled leading off, took third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch.
St. Edward's won the second game 6-2 behind a 12-strikeout complete game from Luke Short (9-0). The lefthander from Los Gatos, California, lowered his earned-run average to 2.25 and finished with 12 strikeouts in a game for the fifth time this season.
Connor Cox and Lance Little were catalysts in the Hilltoppers' four-run fourth inning. Cox tied the score 2-2 with a two-run single. Little doubled home the go-ahead run off LCU starter Chris Shull (0-1) and scored on a wild pitch by reliever Tyler Manyo.
The outcome in the opener was the second victory in a row for LCU (24-17, 22-17) over St. Edward's (31-9, 29-9), which had won 21 of 23 going into the series.
The two teams finish the series with a game at 1 p.m. Sunday.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: LCU splits conference baseball doubleheader at No. 4 St. Edward's
