ST. LOUIS — The Billikens baseball team defeated Saint Joseph's, 8-4, to win the series in their first conference matchup of the season.
The Hawks took an early lead with runs in the first and third innings, leading 2-0.
Saint Louis answered with five runs in the fifth inning. Riley Iffrig drove in the first SLU run with an RBI double, and Ethan Sitzman scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 2-2. Brenden Stressler then hit a three-run homer to give the Billikens a 5-2 lead.
The Billikens added to their lead when Kamaehu Sanchez hit his first home run as a Billiken, and Sitzman hit a sacrifice fly to score Ian Halverson.
Chase Beattie capped the scoring with a home run in the seventh, extending the Billikens' lead to 8-2.
The Hawks scored two more runs in the ninth to cut the lead to 8-4 but were unable to complete the comeback.
Josh Cunningham earned the win, pitching 7.0 innings and striking out seven.
The Billikens return to action Wednesday, March 19, against Bradley at 3 p.m.