March 24, 2007

Box Score

ST. LOUIS - Saint Louis rallied back from a 7-0 deficit but could not push past Charlotte, falling 12-10 in Atlantic 10 baseball action this afternoon at The Billiken Sports Center. The Billikens (4-19, 0-2 A-10) put up three hits and a run in the ninth before Charlotte closer Bryan Hamilton left the tying runs stranded with a double play and a game-ending strikeout. Junior B.J. Rodrigue recorded a pair of hits and two RBI, including one in the ninth.

The 49ers (19-4, 2-0 A-10) opened the game with three straight hits off SLU starter Brock Hewitt for an early 1-0 lead. After the senior right-hander worked out of trouble in the first, he saw Charlotte plate three unearned runs in the second on three hits and an error. An Alex Bryant double down the left field line plated another run in the third, and the 49ers tacked on two more in the fourth, although solid outfield defense helped the 49ers run themselves out of a big inning.

The Billiken bats came alive in the bottom of the fourth, plating five runs on five hits off Charlotte starter Spencer Steedley. Gilbert Marlowe kicked things off with a single up the middle and advanced to second on Casey Moore's ground ball, which the 49er first baseman mishandled to put Moore on first. After Steedley walked Greg Rodgers, the Billikens' RBI leader, Bill Musselman drove a single through the left side for SLU's first two runs of the series. Blake Bratcher plated Rodgers with a single through the right side, and Rodrigue tucked a double just inside the left field line to bring in Musselman, although Bratcher was thrown out heading to third on the play. Freshman L.J. Watson cut the Billiken deficit to 7-5 with a two-out single to right center to plate Rodrigue from second.

SLU went to the bullpen for Eric Brewer in the top of the fifth, and the left-hander worked himself into and out of a jam, leaving the bases loaded and the 49ers scoreless for the first time in the game. Steedley hit Marlowe to open the bottom of the inning, sending the 49ers to the bullpen as well. Sam Pierce took over but had the identical result as he hit Moore, the first batter he faced. The Billikens took advantage of the extra base runners as Rodgers rifled a single through the left side to cut the Charlotte lead to one. After Musselman reached on an error to load the bases, Bratcher tied the game with a sacrifice fly to center. A ground ball and a strikeout got Pierce out of the inning before the Billikens could take the lead.

Chris Taylor led off the sixth with a double, and Chris Lane put the 49ers back on top with a sacrifice fly. A pair of hits and an error brought in two more runs in the top of the seventh before Rodrigue took the mound and forced the 49ers to leave the bases loaded. The eighth inning brought the same result as the 49ers again pushed two runs across with two outs in the inning but left the bases loaded.

A hit batter and a single to left kicked off the home half of the eighth as the Billikens looked for another rally. A 49er error made it a 12-8 game, and Marlowe's single to right brought the Bills within three. With runners on the corners, Charlotte third baseman Aaron Bray robbed Moore on a line drive to end the inning.

Rodrigue worked around a hit batter to keep the 49ers off the board in the ninth, and Rodgers opened the bottom of the inning with a single to left. Musselman followed suit, sending pinch runner Matt Mach to second. Both teams went to the bench as the 49ers brought in Hamilton and the Billikens went to pinch hitter Ryan Johnson. The sophomore was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Rodrigue. A single to right brought Mach home and cut the deficit to 12-10. A double play eased the pressure on Hamilton, and the strikeout sealed the victory.

Pierce picked up the win for Charlotte, improving to 1-1 on the season as he allowed just one earned run on one hit and struck out three in 3-1/3 innings of relief, while Hamilton collected his first save of the year. Brewer suffered the loss for the Billikens, falling to 0-3.

Kris Rochelle and Brad McElroy each drove in a game-high four runs for Charlotte, and Rochelle's four hits were a game-high as well. For the Billikens, Musselman and Bratcher joined Rodrigue with two RBI apiece.

The Billikens will look to avoid the sweep in the series finale on Sun., March 25, at noon at The Billiken Sports Center.