May 20, 2005

Box Score

GREENVILLE, N.C. - Two rain delays forced the suspension of Saint Louis' baseball game tonight at East Carolina with the Billikens trailing 7-3 with one out in the bottom of the sixth. Play will resume on Saturday at 11 a.m. (CT) prior to the regularly-scheduled series finale. The Billikens had forged ahead in the top of the inning on Tim Landy's double only to see the Pirates send five across in the bottom of the inning, including back-to-back home runs.

The Pirates opened a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second after forcing the Billikens to leave the bases loaded in the top of the frame. Drew Costanzo picked up in the second game of the series where he left off last night with an RBI triple after Mark Minicozzi led off the inning with a single. Ryan Peisel plated Costanzo with a sacrifice fly before SLU starter Etienne Ratte-Delorme got out of the inning.

SLU answered quickly in the top of the third. Pat Steinhoff and Johnny Sweeney started the inning with back-to-back singles. Senior Scott Peden cut the Pirate lead in half with an RBI single to left. ECU right-hander Kevin Rhodes retired the next two hitters but issued a walk to Bill Musselman to again load the bases. The free pass sent the Pirates to the bullpen for Scott Andrews, whose wild pitch allowed Sweeney to score the tying run before closing out the inning.

Both offenses went quietly in the fourth and fifth, which included a 53-minute rain delay. The Billikens took a 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth on Landy's double to right center, which plated Musselman who also doubled. SLU did not stay in front for long as a single, a walk and a two-run double from Minicozzi opened the bottom of the frame and forced Ratte-Delorme to the dugout for freshman Mark Zielinski. The young left-hander got Costanzo to line out to second, but yielded back-to-back home runs to Piesel and Mike Grace, which put ECU on top 7-3. A single by Harrison Eldridge sent the Billikens back to the bullpen for freshman Chris Paulson. A second rain delay interrupted inning and, lasting more than two hours, sent the teams off the field for the night.

With Saturday's finale, Saint Louis will close out its 10-year tenure in Conference USA. The Billikens will move to the Atlantic 10 Conference in the 2005-06 academic year.