With Tuesday’s win, the SLU Billikens are now 30-11 on the season. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
| NCAA Baseball | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Louis (30-11) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 11 | 1 |
| Butler (17-27) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 2 |
WP: Owen Chaffin – SLU (2-2) LP: Nick Miketinac – BU (2-1)
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
INDIANAPOLIS, IN — The Saint Louis University baseball team won its 30th game of the 2024 season on Tuesday, in a dominating 12-2 performance on the road at Butler.
The 30th win marked the 12th time in program history that Saint Louis had reached that feat, with 10 of those occasions coming with head coach Darin Hendrickson at the helm.
This season, the Billikens began the year by winning eight straight and 15 of their first 16. Then once Atlantic 10 Conference play began, SLU won five straight, lost two, then won five straight again. The Billikens lost two in a row again after that, but since then have won four of their last five, including Tuesday’s romp over Butler.
Saint Louis began the game by scoring seven straight runs — two in the third and five in the fifth. Then after Butler got on the board with a couple of runs, the Billikens closed out the day by scoring four runs in the eighth and a single tally in the ninth.
SLU took advantage of having baserunners all day. The Billikens piled up 11 hits, drew six walks, and even had a hit batsmen.
Senior first baseman Cole Smith led the way. He had three hits, three RBIs, and score two runs.
Junior second baseman Ethan Sitzman had two hits and scored two runs. And in a very welcome sight, junior center fielder Hayden Moore made his return to the lineup.
He had been out with an injury since March 24. But made his return with two hits, an RBI, and two runs scored.
The key blows in the game were a pair of three-run homers hit by Drew Winters and Brenden Stressler. Winters’ blast, which came in that huge fifth inning, gave him the team lead with eight homers this year.
Stressler, a true freshman from Chicago, hit his homer in the eighth and it was his first home run as a college player.
Another player returning from injury, pitcher Tommy Ray, made the start for the Billikens and pitched a 1-2-3 first inning to begin the game.
Teammate Owen Chaffin took over in the second and pitched 3 1/3 innings to get the win. He is now 2-2 on the season.
Tuesday’s contest against Butler was the final game in an eight-game road trip for the Billikens, who went 5-3 on the outing.
SLU will be back home and back in conference play this weekend, when it will host a three-game set against George Mason. The Billikens and Patriots will play single games on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, all at the Billiken Sports Complex. First pitch for Friday’s game will be 3 p.m.
SCORING SUMMARY
| Logo | Team | Inning | Play Description | SLU | BU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | SLU | 3rd | SMITH, C singled to left field, 2 RBI; STRESSLER scored, unearned; SITZMAN scored, unearned. | 2 | 0 |
| SLU | 5th | SMITH, C singled to right field, RBI; MOORE advanced to second; GALLAHER advanced to third; SITZMAN scored. | 3 | 0 |
| SLU | 5th | SMITH, C advanced to second; MOORE advanced to third; GALLAHER scored on a wild pitch. | 4 | 0 |
| SLU | 5th | WINTERS (8) homered to left field, 3 RBI; SMITH, C scored; MOORE scored. | 7 | 0 |
 | BU | 5th | LEWIS singled to left field, RBI; DORIGHI advanced to second, advanced to third on an error by lf; ESLINGER scored. | 7 | 1 |
| BU | 7th | LEWIS out at first 1b to p, RBI; MOROKNEK scored. | 7 | 2 |
| SLU | 8th | STRESSLER (1) homered to right field, 3 RBI; MOORE scored; GALLAHER scored. | 10 | 2 |
| SLU | 8th | RICHTER tripled to right field, RBI; SMITH, C scored. | 11 | 2 |
| SLU | 9th | MOORE singled through the right side, RBI; SITZMAN advanced to second; MASTROS scored. | 12 | 2 |
SAINT LOUIS BILLIKENS 2024 BASEBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 3, 2024 (Friday) | 3 pm | Home | George Mason | Billiken Sports Complex |
| May 4, 2024 (Saturday) | 2 pm | Home | George Mason | Billiken Sports Complex |
| May 5, 2024 (Sunday) | 12 pm | Home | George Mason | Billiken Sports Complex |
| May 7, 2024 (Tuesday) | 4 pm | Home | Lindenwood | Billiken Sports Complex |
| May 10, 2024 (Friday) | 3 pm | Home | Dayton | Billiken Sports Complex |
| May 11, 2024 (Saturday) | 2 pm | Home | Dayton | Billiken Sports Complex |
| May 12, 2024 (Sunday) | 12 pm | Home | Dayton | Billiken Sports Complex |
| May 16, 2024 (Thursday) | 3 pm | Away | UMass | Amherst, Mass. |
| May 17, 2024 (Friday) | 1 pm | Away | UMass | Amherst, Mass. |
| May 18, 2024 (Saturday) | 12 pm | Away | UMass | Amherst, Mass. |
| May 21, 2024 (Tuesday) | TBA | Neutral | Atlantic 10 Championship | Tysons, Va. (Capital One Park) |