Leavenworth, Kan.—
 
Game One:

Sterling erased a one-run deficit with a three-run eighth inning and a seven-run ninth Saturday afternoon, pulling away from USM for an 11-3 win in day two of the series match up in Leavenworth. The momentum swinging stretch came after the Spires carried a 2-1 lead into the eighth, but the Warriors late offense flipped the scoreboard and kept Saint Mary from finishing off the winning bid.

The game stayed scoreless through five innings before Sterling broke through in the sixth. SC's Huerta Cardenas doubled to left-center to bring home Lang and gave Sterling a 1-0 lead. The Spires answered in the bottom half with two runs to move in front 2-1 from a single to right by Lucas Barta, scoring Maverick Rockers (walk), and then a double to left center from yesterday's hero Ian Maldonado bringing across Barta. The Spires remained in that position until Sterling's lineup broke through again late.

The Warriors took control in the eighth with a string of productive at-bats. Harding singled home Castro to tie the game, House followed with a sacrifice fly that scored Garcia, and Garcia doubled to drive in Lang for a 4-2 advantage. That inning set up an even bigger push in the ninth, when SC sent seven more runs across to turn a close game into a lopsided final.

USM would score once in the bottom of the ninth, but the Spires could not recover after Sterling piled up late traffic on the bases. The Warriors finished with 14 hits, four doubles and 11 RBIs, while the Spires had seven hits and three doubles.

Harding led Sterling's offense by going 2-for-5 with three RBIs and a double. Lang went 2-for-4, doubled, reached base multiple times and scored three runs. On the mound, Sterling starter Clark went the distance, allowing seven hits and three earned runs over nine innings
 
Game Two:

The final game of the series saw the Spires put the tying run on base and brought the winning run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh, but the Warriors escaped with a 6-5 victory.

The Spires struck first and looked in control early. Ian Maldonado delivered a two-run single to center in the bottom of the first, scoring twice for a 2-0 Saint Mary advantage. Sterling answered in the second when Campos drove a two-run double to right-center, evening the score at 2-2. From there, the game tightened into a pitchers' battle until the fifth, when Huerta Cardenas came through with Sterling's go-ahead extra-base hit.

SC added to its margin in the sixth on an RBI groundout by Campos, with the run scoring unearned, and pushed the lead to 6-3 in the seventh on Imanol Ramos' sacrifice fly. Those insurance runs proved critical against a Spire lineup that produced 11 hits. Lucas Barta paced the Spires with three hits, including a run-scoring double in the seventh, while Maldonado finished with two hits and three RBIs.

The home crew chipped away in the sixth when Sergio Fierro lifted a sac fly that brought home Barta and cut the deficit to 5-3. The Spires then mounted their final push in the seventh. Barta doubled to left to score Saul Vazquez-Alvarado, and Maldonado followed with a sacrifice fly that plated Tannen Buss and trimmed the margin to one. Sterling, though, recorded the final out before Saint Mary could complete the comeback.

Despite allowing 11 hits, Sterling right-hander Elsasser went the distance and earned the win. He threw all seven innings, gave up five earned runs, walked two and struck out five. USM finished with five runs on 11 hits and two errors, while Sterling scored six runs on six hits, drew seven walks and made the most of four doubles.

Spire baseball will spend some time on the road as they meet the Baker University Wildcats at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kansas this Wednesday, April 1^st at 6:30 p.m. The non-con against the Wildcats will be directly followed by a KCAC three game series in Winfield on the home field of the Southwestern College Moundbuilders on Friday, April 3^rd and Saturday, April 4^th.