April 13, 2004

Final Stats

ST. LOUIS - Saint Louis University senior pitchers Kris Weber (St. Louis, Mo./Chaminade) and Dave Guntorius (St. Charles, Mo./Howell Central) combined for a 6-4 win over Southeast Missouri this afternoon at The Billiken Sports Center. Gusty winds early led to nine combined errors by the teams, but the Billikens (10-23) came out on top thanks to Guntorius' final two scoreless innings on the mound. Seniors Kyle Wort (St. Charles, Mo./Howell North) and Drew Eder (Normal, Ill./Central Catholic) each drove in a pair of runs to pace the offensive effort.

The Billikens jumped out to an early 3-0 lead by capitalizing on three SEMO errors in the first inning. Pat Steinhoff drew a one-out walk and moved to third when Scott Peden's shot to third was misplayed. Wort loaded the bases with a walk and all three advanced a base on an errant throw from the Indian catcher. Eder plated Peden and Wort with a single to right for a 3-0 Billiken lead before SEMO starter Derek Herbig could get out of the inning.

Weber allowed a hit in each of the first three innings, but appeared in complete control against the SEMO hitters throughout his five innings of work. Peden added a run in the bottom of the third with a leadoff home run, his sixth of the season. With two outs in the top of the fourth, the Indians got an extra out when the Billiken defense committed an error. Catcher Brady Noll made the Bills pay with an RBI single up the middle. Weber forced SEMO to leave a pair stranded, however, to hold the lead at 4-1.

Two more errors in the fifth let the Indians back in the game. An error put the leadoff man on base, and a two-out walk left runners on the corners with two outs. Brent Lawson singled to right to cut the lead to 4-2, and a second Billiken error allowed Gary Gilbert to score and narrow the gap to one run. Saint Louis answered in the bottom of the inning, though. Peden roped a double down the left field line and scored on Wort's home run to left center, his sixth of the year to match Peden for the team lead. Eder drove a double to center and reached third on an error, but SEMO reliever Anthony Maupin got out of the jam by picking off the runner at first.

Junior Kurt Struckhoff replaced Weber on the mound in the sixth as the Billikens had a 6-3 lead. A hit and an error put two on in the inning, but Struckhoff left them stranded when he caught Bryan Kurt looking at strike three to end the inning. A pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases for SEMO in the seventh with an opportunity to take the lead. Again, Struckhoff answered the challenge when Ernie Bracamonte flied out to left for the third out.

The Billiken right-hander battled again to open the eighth, issuing a pair of walks on eight pitches, which forced the Billikens to call on Guntorius. The steely-nerved former closer got a double play from the first hitter he faced. SEMO's Frankie Montiel scored on a wild pitch, though, before Guntorius retired Gilbert on called strike three. The Indians' final bid for the victory came in the top of the ninth when Noll's two-out single brought the tying run to the plate. Guntorius induced a routine ground ball from Eric Horstman to preserve the win and collect his first win of the season.

Weber earned the win for the Billikens, improving to 3-2 on the season, while Herbig took the loss for SEMO to fall to 2-3. The Indians out-hit the Billikens 10-6, but SLU pitchers forced SEMO to leave 15 men on base.

The Billikens are back in action tomorrow with a 3 p.m. game at UT-Martin before returning to The Billiken Sports Center for a three-game Conference USA series with Houston. The series begins at 7 p.m. on Fri., Apr. 16.