April 23, 2006

Box Score

ST. LOUIS - Two hit batters and a Bryan Adamski three-run home run in the 10th inning powered Massachusetts to a 6-3 comeback win over Saint Louis this afternoon in the Atlantic 10 Conference series finale at The Billiken Sports Center. The Billikens built a 3-1 lead as starter Ryan Bird held the Minutemen at bay through seven innings. A pair of Billiken errors in the eighth allowed UMass to knot it up at 3-3, and Minuteman starter Rory McDonald retired the Billikens in order n the eighth and ninth innings to send the game to the extra frame.

The first three innings looked like a pitcher's duel as each team saw just one runner reach second base. The Billikens took advantage of McDonald's wildness in the bottom of the fourth when Gilbert Marlowe (St. Louis, Mo./SWIC) was hit by a pitch and moved around to third on a pair of wild pitches. Greg Rodgers (St. Charles, Mo./St. Charles CC) picked up his 37th RBI of the season with a single through the right side. McDonald walked Johnny Sweeney to put two on with just one out, but got out of the inning with no further damage.

Bird worked around an error in the top of the fifth, and the Billiken offense gave him some insurance with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Tim Landy (St. Louis, Mo./DeSmet) opened with a single to right center and moved to third when on an error when Matt Mach (St. Louis, Mo./MICDS) attempted to lay down a sacrifice bunt. Jon Guyre (Hazelwood, Mo./DeSmet) drove a single to left to plate Landy, and Ryan Crespi made it a 3-0 lead with a sacrifice fly to center field.

The Minutemen got one of the runs back in the top of the sixth when Lou Proietti ripped a double down the left field line and scored on Adam Tempesta's single through the left side. The two-run lead became precarious in the seventh when three singles, including two bunts, loaded the bases with no outs. Bill Rankin looked for the sacrifice fly to left, but Sweeney gunned down Bryan Garrity racing for home. Bird registered the last of his six strikeouts on the afternoon to maintain the two-run margin.

After McDonald retired the Billikens in order in the bottom of the seventh, the Minutemen were right back at the plate in the eighth as Ryan Franczek singled through the right side and moved to second on Bird's lone walk of the afternoon, issued to Proietti after a long battle. Bird got Tempesta to line out to third baseman Tom Pinnell whose attempt to double off Proietti at first sailed over the head of Landy, allowing the two runners to advance to second and third. Adamski picked up the RBI on a ground ball to short where an error allowed both runners to score to tie the game at 3-3. The miscue also sent the Billikens to the bullpen for B.J. Rodrigue. The Billiken right-hander got a fly ball off the bat of Garrity, and Crespi gunned down Adamski racing for the third to end the inning.

With the game coming down to the final innings, McDonald controlled the Billikens much as he did early on, working around a Sweeney single in the ninth to send the game to extra innings. Rodrigue hit the first two batters he faced in the 10th before striking out Proietti and inducing a fly out by Tempesta. He had Adamski down in the count 1-2 before the Minuteman first baseman sent the next pitch well beyond the left field wall.

Landy looked to start a rally in the bottom of the frame with a single to right field, but Adamski took the mound to shut down the Billikens for his third save of the series.

With the win, McDonald improved to 2-2 on the season, while UMass pushed its record to 9-18 overall and 7-8 in the A-10. SLU fell to 19-19 on the season with an 8-7 mark in league play as Rodrigue took the loss. In addition to Adamski's four RBI, Tempesta posted a game-high three hits. Sweeney and Landy topped SLU with a pair of hits apiece. For Sweeney, his double in the second inning was the 47th of his career, putting him in a tie for fifth place in SLU history.

The Billikens look to bounce back on Tue., Apr. 25, in a non-conference game against Missouri State at 3 p.m. at The Billiken Sports Center.