PULASKI, Tenn. -- Eight free passes from the pitching staff and four defensive miscues kept the University of St. Francis baseball team from recording a third non-conference win over University of Tennessee Southern in a single-game 13-3 loss to the Firehawks on Sunday afternoon at Bobby Walker Field.

Tennessee Southern (7-6) went straight to work on Sunday, scoring six runs in the first inning and one more in the second to open up a 7-0 advantage.  Another run in the fourth followed by a five-run frame in the sixth inning put the game out of reach.

Ryan Louthan and Jake Merda each collected a hit and drove in one run for the Saints, while Brian Graves took credit for USF's third RBI.  Louthan's RBI came on a triple to centerfield in the fourth inning while Graves followed that up with a RBI groundout to account for USF's first two runs of the game.  Merda made it an 8-3 game in the fifth inning with his two-out walk.

Noah Munson pitched 3.2 innings in relief for the Saints.  He allowed six hits, while striking out one batter.  Carter Garrelts (0-2) picked up the loss, dropping the Saints to an overall record of 3-5 on the season.

Up Next
The Saints will have four days of rest before taking the field again when they travel to Henderson, Tenn. to take on Freed-Hardeman University (Tenn.)  as part of a three-day road trip.  The game will take place at 3 pm CST at Five Wells Field.

You can keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on X @USFSaints.