KISSIMMEE, Fla. – [GAME 1 BOX] [GAME 2 BOX] Saint Louis University Baseball posted its first win of the season on Saturday in an early-season doubleheader. The Billikens held-on to a 6-5 lead over the Pittsburgh Panthers, but dropped a close 4-1 decision in game two to the Toledo Rockets.

Saint Louis (1-2) began the day in a big way thanks in large part to a big top of the third in game one. Pittsburgh ace Dan Hammer got the start and the Billikens chased the sophomore from the game in the fifth.

The game remained scoreless through two innings before the Saint Louis bats heated-up. Carter Hanford recorded the first hit of the game on a single up the middle to give the Billikens a base runner with one away.

Aaron Case followed Hanford with an RBI double to the left side and put the first run on the board for the Billikens.

After a two out double in the first inning, Parker Sniatynski notched his second double of the game. The senior outfielder drove Case across the plate and put cleanup hitter James Morisano at the plate with a two run lead.

The Billiken catcher, after recording his first homerun of the season just 24 hours prior, drove a pitch over the left field wall to make it a 4-0 game.

Saint Louis posted two more runs in the fifth as Case led off the inning with his second hit of the day, and set the table for a two run inning. Sniatynski crushed another double, his fourth in two games, to make it a 5-0 game for the Billikens. Jake Garella singled-in one more later in the inning to give his team a six run lead heading into the bottom of the fifth.

The Panthers fired back in the fifth with a pair of runs before a series of walks in the sixth put Pittsburgh right back in the game. Jackson Wark struck-out two and walked three in the inning before Tom Bushnell came on in relief. The junior righty faced just one batter and allowed a walk as the Billikens went back to the bullpen to call upon Ryan Lefner.

The junior from California struck out Nick Popa looking on a full count to end the inning and the Panther threat.

Lefner finished the game out for the Billikens and struck-out the side in the ninth to give Saint Louis its first win of 2018.

Sniatynski has now hit four doubles over the course of two games while Jake Garella continued his torrid pace to start the year. The sophomore went 2-4 in game one with one RBI.

In game two, the Billikens trailed early and were never able to recover. Toledo lead-off man Matt Hansen singled and scored in the top of the first to give the Rockets a 1-0 lead.

Saint Louis left 11 runners stranded on base in the game, but finally broke through in the bottom of the sixth. Cole Dubet walked to lead-off the inning, and after a James Morisano single, scored on a Jake Garella RBI single to the right side.

The Rockets, however, regained the lead in the top of the seventh and never let it slip. Toledo tacked-on two more in the top of the ninth as Saint Louis dropped its second game of the season.

For the second time in as many days, a great outing by a Billiken starting pitcher ended in a no-decision. Cody Luther went five and a third innings and allowed one run on four hits with nine strikeouts to his credit.

Two firsts occurred for Billikens in game two as Braxton Stowe grabbed his first base hit of his collegiate career after recovering from a knee replacement nearly two years ago. In a pinch-hit appearance in the ninth, Stowe hit a chopper to short that he legged-out at first. Though an error was credited, it was a part of a larger story for the junior from Hamilton, Bermuda.

The other first came off the bat of freshman Ben Livorsi. The Minnesota native recorded his first collegiate hit, a double, in a pinch-hitting appearance in the ninth.

Saint Louis will have an opportunity for revenge on Sunday as they will meet Toledo yet again to wrap-up play in the 2018 Sunshine State Series. First pitch is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. CST at Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee, Fla.