LACEY, Wash. — The Saint Martin's Baseball team went 2-2 at home against Whitworth, the inaugural games on the program's new turf field.

The Saints won both games on Homecoming, before dropping two contests on day two of the series against the Pirates. The series moved the Saints' record to 6-9 on the season.

Game 1: Saint Martin's 8, Whitworth 7

• After a scoreless two and a half innings, the Saints erupted for five runs in the bottom of the third and two in the bottom of the fourth, taking a commanding 7-0 lead. 
  • The third inning saw Carson Dunn score off an error, Evan Nicol hit an RBI-single, Peter Hollabaugh double to score two runs, and Dillon Andres score a run via a sacrifice fly.
  • In the fourth, Bransyn Hong scored a run on a sacrifice hit, before Isaac Hoag singled to score Noah Albanese.
• Whitworth slowly started to come back, scoring two runs in the top of the fifth, one run in the top of the sixth, and two runs in each of the seventh and eighth innings. After Noah Albanese singled in a run in the bottom of the sixth, the rally by Whitworth brought the score to 8-7 in favor of the Saints.
• In the top of the ninth, Caiden Schultz retired the final three batters, two by way of strikeout, securing the save and clinching an 8-7 win for the Saints.

Top Performers

• Hudson Normand earned the win, pitching six innings and striking out five batters. He allowed three runs off five hits.
• Noah Albanese went 3-4 with two runs and one RBI
• Carson Dunn went 2-3 with two runs.
• Peter Hollabaugh tallied two RBIs.

Game 2: Saint Martin's 7, Whitworth 0

• The Saints controlled game two of the series, as Nikki Scott II pitched a seven-inning shutout that saw just four hits allowed, while striking out seven batters.
• The Saints started off the game with a two-run single by Evan Nicol in the top of the fourth.
• Saint Martin's grew its lead to 6-0 after the third inning, as Peter Hollabaugh and Carson Dunn both singled to score runners, and Kelton Tom scored on an error.
• The Saints added another run in the bottom of the sixth as Noah Albanese scored off a Bransyn Hong groundout.
• Nikki Scott II struck out the side in the final inning, securing a 7-0 win for the Saints.

Top Performers

• Nikki Scott II threw seven innings, striking out seven batters and allowing no runs off four hits.
• Noah Albanese went 3-4 with two runs scored.
• Evan Nicol tallied two RBIs.
• Carson Dunn and Dillon Andres each had two-hit performances.

Game 3: Saint Martin's 8, Whitworth 12

• The Saints and Pirates started off day two of the series with a high-scoring affair, despite Whitworth only holding a narrow 1-0 lead after three and a half innings.
• Saint Martin's scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 4-1 lead, doing so off an RBI single from Carson Dunn, a two-RBI single by Noah Albanese, and a run scored by error.
• Whitworth scored two runs in the fifth and two in the seventh, taking a 5-4 lead.
• The Saint retook a 7-5 lead in the bottom of the seventh, as Isaac Hoag singled to score two runs, and Peter Hollabaugh scored from third base off an error.
• The Pirates scored two runs in the top of the eight, tying the game at 7-7. Both teams went scoreless in the ninth, forcing extra innings.
• After Whitworth took an 8-7 lead in the top of the 10th, the Saints responded with an RBI double by Noah Albanese that scored Carson Dunn and tied the game at 8-8.
• Whitworth embarked on a huge rally in the top of the 11th, scoring four runs off three separate RBI hits and one groundout that scored a run.
• The Saints were retired in order in the bottom of the 11th, falling by a score of 12-8.

Game 4: Saint Martin's 2, Whitworth 4

• The Pirates scored two runs in the top of the first off an RBI single and sacrifice fly, and added another run in the second off an RBI single, putting the Saints behind 3-0.
• In the bottom of the third, Carson Dunn crushed a solo home run to left field, trimming the deficit to 3-1.
• Whitworth bounced back with an RBI single in the top of the fourth, putting the Saints down 4-1.
• The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the seventh, as the Saints tried to rally in the final half inning. Saint Martin's moved runners to first and third with one out, and Kyle Schabot singled to score Bransyn Hong and cut the deficit to 4-2.
  • The Saints managed to load the bases with two outs and the winning run at first base, but were unable to make any further progress in the comeback and fell by a final score of 4-2.

Top Performers

• Four Saints went 1-3 at the plate, including Carson Dunn who tallied his first home run of the season.
• Luke Fulkerson pitched five innings and allowed one run while striking out two batters.

Up Next
The Saints will head to Hayward, California to face Cal State East Bay four four games across a three day stretch from Feb. 27 to March 1. Saint Martin's opens GNAC play at Montana State Billings on March 6.