April 28, 2006

Box Score

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Saint Louis fell victim a late-inning comeback for the second-straight game in falling 8-7 at Charlotte Friday night in Atlantic 10 baseball action at Tom and Lib Phillips Field. The Billikens (20-21, 8-8 A-10) held a narrow 7-6 lead heading into the final inning, only to see the 49ers (29-12-1, 13-3 A-10) capitalize on a walk, an error and a balk with a clutch two-run single off the bat of Chris Taylor. SLU out-hit Charlotte 13-10 in the game as every starter recorded at least one hit, including four players with two hits. Ryan Crespi and Ziggy Moore each added two RBI.

Saint Louis looked to strike quickly with a pair of singles in the top of the first, but a double play ended the threat. SLU starter Dave Sever worked around three walks in the bottom of the frame, setting up his offense to take the lead in the top of the second. Gilbert Marlowe and Bill Musselman opened the second with singles to put runners on the corners for Tim Landy, whose sacrifice fly to right put the Bills on top 1-0.

Greg Rodgers made Charlotte starter Derek McDaid pay for a leadoff walk to Jon Guyre with a two-out RBI single to center. A pair of singles put two on for Charlotte in the bottom of the third when Sever got help from his catcher as Musselman retired O'Brien Taylor trying to steal second. Sever got Spencer Steedley to ground out to hold the 2-0 lead.

Charlotte cut the lead in half on a single, a walk and a fielder's choice in the bottom of the fourth. Steedley knotted the game 2-2 with a solo home run to right to lead off the sixth. The Billikens took advantage of two 49er errors to re-take the lead in the top of the seventh. After Erik Walker took over for McDaid, Ryan Crespi worked the count to 2-2 before dropping a single into right field to plate Ziggy Moore from third. A pair of strikeouts closed the inning before the Billikens could do any further damage. Alan Parks drew a leadoff walk for the 49ers in the bottom of the seventh, sending Sever to the dugout in favor of Brock Hewitt. A pair of sacrifice bunts moved Parks to third, and Mike Ambrose tied the game again with a single to center before Hewitt closed out the inning.

Offense dominated both halves of the eighth inning, beginning with a four-run outburst from the Billikens. Marlowe was hit by a pitch to open the inning and moved to third on Musselman's double to left. After Landy drew an intentional walk, Moore ripped a double to right center, plating both Marlowe and Musselman for a 5-3 lead. Tom Pinnell poked a single through the right side to bring Landy home, and Crespi slapped a two-out single through the left side to put the Bills up 7-3.

A Chris Taylor single with an error and a Chris Lane single up the middle put runners on the corners with one out in the bottom of the eighth. Parks drove Taylor in with a single through the right side, and the Billikens went to closer B.J. Rodrigue to face pinch hitter Jeff Bohlen. The sophomore got a ground ball to eliminate Parks, but was again left with runners on the corners. A walk to Aaron Bray loaded the bases, and O'Brien Taylor ripped a single to right to plate Chris Taylor. O'Brien collected a second RBI and the 49ers made it a 7-6 game when Chris Lane collided with Pinnell at third base and was sent home on the obstruction call. The Billikens got out of the inning when Bray was caught between second and third on the play and was tagged for the final out.

After SLU went down in order in the top of the ninth against freshman left-hander Kyle Pfirrman, more drama ensued in the bottom of the frame. A walk to Steedley put the tying run on base, but Rodrigue appeared to be out of the inning when he got a double-play ball off the bat of Cory Lane. SLU's third error of the game left both runners safe, however, and extended the game for Charlotte. Both runners then advanced on a balk, which was close enough for Chris Taylor to deliver the winning blow with a two-run single to right center.

Pfirrman collected the win for Charlotte, improving to 3-1 on the season, as he struck out three in 1-2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Rodrigue took the loss for the Billikens as he yielded two runs on two hits in an inning of work to fall to 2-2 on the year. For the Billikens, Crespi, Rodgers, Musselman and Pinnell each recorded a pair of hits. O'Brien Taylor, Ambrose and Chris Taylor also recorded two hits apiece.

The teams face off again on Sat., Apr. 29, at 1 p.m. (CT).