ST. LOUIS – The Saint Louis University baseball team secured a 12-4 victory over South Dakota State on Saturday
 
The Billikens struck early in the second inning with a three-run rally. Hayden Moore tripled and later scored on a throwing error, driving in Austin Neuweg and Ian Halverson. South Dakota State responded in the fourth inning with a solo home run to right field, cutting the lead to 3-1.
 
SLU extended its lead in the fifth, off of homers by Brenden Stressler and Max McGwire, making it 5-1. South Dakota State mounted a response in the sixth, narrowing the score to 5-4.
 
However, the Billikens broke open the game in the seventh inning. They added a run on a walk to Ethan Sitzman, then exploded for seven more runs, including a three-run triple by Stressler and an RBI single by Hank Gomric. By the end of the seventh, SLU had built a commanding 12-4 lead, which held as the final score.
 
Ben Cherico picked up his second win of the season after five innings of work.
 
The Billikens are back in action for the series final against South Dakota State at 1 p.m. on Sunday.