Arlington, Va. – The Marymount baseball squad posted almost 30 hits on Saturday, downing Wesley 8-6 in the opener before defeating the Wolverines 16-13 in the nightcap.  The Saints improve to 8-5 on the season and 4-2 in league play with the wins.

Brandon Padgett had himself quite the day at the dish, posting a 6-for-8 performance with four runs scored, two RBIs, and two doubles.  Ryan Blake proved equally as lethal with his 5-for-10 outing, including seven RBIs, a double, and two towering homeruns.

Marymount (Va.) 8, Wesley 6
The opener saw the squads exchange runs in the first inning.  The Wolverines led off the game with a solo shot to deep left field, while the Saints saw the Berczek brothers combine for the equalizer in the bottom half of the frame.  Stephen Berzcek set the table, reaching and advancing to second on a Wesley throwing error.  After the rookie swiped third, Ben Berczek stepped to the plate and smacked a single down the left field line to even the score, 1-1.

While Wesley pushed across another lone tally in the second, the Saints did not proceed quite so cautiously in their turn at the dish.  Breheny used his speed to beat out an infield single to open the frame, advancing to second on a wild pitch.  Padgett and Kaden Darrow each earned free passes to load the bases for Karlis Graubics, who punched a ball to deep center for a sacrifice fly – bringing Breheny in for the tying run, 2-2.  Singles from Lorenzo Calderon and Blake brought in another pair for the Saints, upping the margin to 4-2 heading into the third.

Another Wolverines homerun in the fourth saw the guests cut the gap to one, 4-3.  After shutting out the Saints in the same frame, Wesley used another long ball to knot the game and an ensuing RBI-single to take the slim 5-4 advantage.

Like before, the Saints were ready with an apt response.  Padgett sent a one-out single up the gut to kick things off in the fifth, advancing to second on a single from Darrow.  Graubics pushed both runners up with his bunt single – loading the bases Stephen Berczek.  The freshman cracked a double to right field to plate both Padgett and Darrow and give Marymount the 6-5 lead. 

Wesley worked methodically in the eighth to tie the contest, 6-6, but the Saints were ready to pen the opener into the books.  Calderon led off the Marymount eighth with a towering solo homerun to left field.  Blake followed suit just two batters later, lacing an absolute laser to right field for his first round-tripper of the season.

The two long balls would cap the scoring and give Marymount the 8-6 win.

Marymount (Va.) 16, Wesley 13
The nightcap saw big innings transpire early and often.  Wesley led off the contest with a quick five-run frenzy in the first.  Marymount answered with three runs on four hits to whittle the margin down to two, 5-3.

The Wolverines notched single tallies in both the second and third frames, increasing their advantage to 7-3.  After blanking the visitors in the top half of the fourth, Marymount settled in for another big inning.  The Saints raked the Wolverines defense for four unearned runs, using a Graubics single up the middle to ignite the rally.  Three consecutive errors from the Wesley infield proved the deciding factor, along with clutch two-out singles from Padgett and Chas Hinkle.

The Saints silenced the Wesley bats yet again in the fifth and then went back to work – plating three runs on one hit to up the ante to 10-7.  Five runs from the Wolverines saw the guests retake the lead, 12-10, in the sixth.  Marymount added a single strike in their ensuing at-bats, but the score remained squarely in Wesley's favor, 10-8.

After a scoreless seventh frame, Marymount dug deep and exploded for five runs in the eighth to seal the deal.  Three hits, including a two-RBI single from Blake, saw the Saints firmly corner the Wolverines heading into the ninth.  Wesley plated one run, but Blake – having come on to pitch in relief – struck out the final three batters to shut the door, 16-13.

Marymount returns to action on Sunday when it hosts Tufts University in a single game at 2 p.m.