March 23, 2005

Box Score

PEORIA, Ill. - Four Saint Louis pitchers tried to stop the hot-hitting Braves, but no one had the answer in a 11-10 loss at Bradley this afternoon. A seven-run fifth inning cost the Billikens the lead, and the offense could not generate enough runs late in the game to overcome the deficit. Senior Pat Steinhoff (St. Charles, Mo./St. Charles West) led the potent Billiken offense with a 4-for-5 afternoon.

The Billikens struck first and often in the game. Four hits in the first inning plated a pair of runs for an early 2-0 lead. Junior Jon Guyre drove in a run in for a quick 3-0 lead before Bradley starter Kevin Biringer forced the Bills to leave the bases loaded the top of the second.

The Braves forged ahead in the bottom of the third as SLU starter Eric Brewer began to falter. Two singles, a walk and a hit batter with the bases loaded forced the Billikens to go to another freshman on the mound in Lance Rhodes. The rookie right-hander struggled with control early, walking in a run before yielding the tying and go-ahead runs on a sacrifice fly and a single up the right field line. Rhodes rallied to record two strikeouts to end the inning trailing just 4-3.

Saint Louis reclaimed the lead quickly after Biringer opened the fourth by walking Tim Landy and Guyre and hitting Steinhoff with a pitch. Drew Eder drove in a run on a ground ball to the right side, and Scott Peden put the Bills back on top with a sacrifice fly. The Billiken offense went right back to work in the top of the fifth, adding three more runs for a 8-4 margin. Landy plated the first two with a ringing triple down the right field line. Steinhoff brought Landy home with a two-out double in the same spot.

Trailing by four, the Braves went to work with two outs in the bottom of the fifth. Seven straight hits, including two doubles and a triple, brought seven runs across and gave Bradley an 11-8 edge. Despite the pitching troubles in the seventh, the Billiken offense was not finished. Casey Moore led off the seventh with a double to right and moved to third on Landy's single. Guyre's ground ball brought Moore home, but erased Landy. After Steinhoff singled to center he came around to score on an error to bring the Bills within one.

Reliever Mark Zielinski battled the Braves in the fifth and sixth innings but ran into trouble in the seventh. Chris Paulson took over with two runners on to keep Saint Louis within striking distance. Johnny Sweeney opened the eighth with a single before BU reliever Peter Elmer got a double play to hold the Billikens off the board for just the third time in the game. Paulson retired the Braves in order in the bottom of the frame. Elmer worked around a throwing error in the top of the ninth to preserve the win for Bradley.

Bradley reliever Josh Caruson picked up the win despite allowing five runs on six hits in four innings on the mound and improved to 2-0 on the season. Rhodes took the loss to fall to 0-4 on the season. Steinhoff's four hits led all hitters, while BU's Johnny Sage picked up a game-high three RBI.

Saint Louis opens a nine-game homestand against No. 22 TCU on Fri., Mar. 25, at 7 p.m. at The Billiken Sports Center. Saturday and Sunday games are slated to start at 1 p.m.