April 15, 2006

Box Score

CINCINNATI - Saint Louis mounted a ninth-inning rally that fell just short in an 8-7 loss at Xavier this afternoon in Atlantic 10 Conference baseball action at Hayden Field. The Musketeers plated at least one run in all but the sixth inning then held off the late Billiken charge to wrap up the victory. Three Billikens (18-15, 7-4 A-10) drove in all seven runs, including sophomore Greg Rodgers and Tom Pinnell who each added a home run to the offensive effort.

Xavier struck first in the bottom of the first, making SLU starter Brock Hewitt pay for a two-out walk issued to Sean Brewer when Chris Lozan ripped a double to left center. Rodgers tied things up in the top of the second with a leadoff home run, and Pinnell put SLU on top with a single to center, which plated Johnny Sweeney from second. A two-out home run from Matt Waskerwitz knotted the game a 2-2 in the bottom of the inning. Hewitt saw the Musketeers load the bases with two singles and a walk before closing the inning with a strikeout.

Danny Hayden put Xavier up 3-2 with an RBI double down the right field line in the bottom of the third, and Adam Lipski made it a 4-2 lead with an RBI single in the fourth. Hayden picked up another RBI with a single down the right field line in the fifth, which also sent Hewitt to the dugout for junior Dan Cowsert, who held the deficit to 5-2.

Cowsert kept the Musketeers off the board in the sixth, and the Billikens cut the lead to 5-3 on Pinnell's solo home run to left center, the first round-tripper of his career. Xavier again struck with two outs in the bottom of the seventh with a pair of bases-loaded singles for a 7-3 lead. The Billikens left two on in the top of the eighth, and Hayden put one over the left field wall in the bottom for an 8-3 margin.

In the top of the ninth, the Billikens got help from a pair of Xavier errors to put two runners on with two outs in the inning. Pinch hitter Bill Musselman reached first on a wild pitch on what would have been strike three to keep the inning going for Gilbert Marlowe, who slapped his second double of the game to clear the bases and cut the XU lead to 8-6. Steve Sakosits took over for XU starter Mike Creevy on the mound. Sakosits had Rodgers down 0-2 before the Billiken DH ripped a double to right center, cutting the lead to 8-7. The Xavier reliever got Sweeney to fly out to left on a 2-2 pitch to wrap up his first save of the season.

Creevy improved to 3-6 on the season with the win, giving up just three earned runs and striking out five in 8-2/3 innings. Hewitt took the loss for SLU, falling to 2-4 on the season, despite a career-high five strikeouts in four innings on the mound. Marlowe and Hayden tied for game-high honors with three RBI apiece. Rodgers matched Marlowe's three hits to lead the Billiken offense.

The two teams wrap up their three-game series on Sunday at 11 a.m.