FORT MYERS, Florida - March 7, 2024 - A five-hour rain delay wouldn't slow down the Hiram baseball team on Thursday afternoon, as the Terriers beat Saint John's (16-10) and Bluffton (9-1) to enter the final day of its trip to Fort Myers with plenty of momentum.

Hiram has now scored 38 runs over its last three games and at least seven runs in five straight games. For the first time in 2024, the team has a winning record.

Game 1 Recap

The Terriers tallied 16 hits and 16 runs against a Saint John's team that went 23-16 last season and 14-6 in conference play. Nine different student-athletes recorded at least one hit, with each of the first five batters recording multiple RBI.

Hal Walker Jr. led the charge by tying a career-high with four hits and setting a new career-high with five RBI. He ripped a pair of two-run singles in the fourth and fifth innings before knocking in another run on a single in the eighth inning.

Hiram scored three runs in the first inning, but did most of the damage in the middle innings, scoring 10 runs between the fourth and sixth frames. Ethan Lyke, Matthew Trimble and Chaisson Marrs joined Walker Jr. during the hit parade with run-scoring singles of their own.

Jacob Koces earned his first win of the season on the mound, while the relief unit of Kade Compeau, Noah Brown and Jacob Kocuba kept Hiram ahead all the way through the finish line.

Game 2 Recap

It was a more one-sided affair in the second game of the day, with Hiram bouncing back from a 17-13 loss to Bluffton on Wednesday with a 9-1 win. The offense once again was in a groove, with Marrs scoring three times and knocking in two runs, while Lyke delivered a pair of doubles and two RBI.

Jack Conley was the biggest name of the second game, as he tied a career-high with 10 punchouts and allowed just one hit over seven innings. Bluffton would only advance one runner past second base against Conley, which turned out to be an unearned run.

The Terriers were in prime position to win both games of the doubleheader after putting together a six-run fourth inning, which included Lyke's two-run double and an RBI single by Connor Bansek. A pair of sacrifice flies in the sixth and seventh would give Hiram more than enough runs to provide Conley with the well-deserved victory.

What's Next

Hiram will finish its eight-game trip in Florida with a nine-inning matchup against Otterbein on Friday at 12 p.m. from Terry Park Field 2 in Fort Myers.