March 28, 2007

Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Saint Louis dropped a 9-1 decision at Missouri State tonight behind hot hitting from the Bears. The Billikens (5-21, 1-2 A-10) plated a run in the fifth inning on J.D. Dunn's infield single, but were already trailing 7-0 at the time. MSU pushed three runs across in the bottom of the first and tacked on two more in the second before Billiken starter Brock Hewitt was able to keep them off the board in the third.

After a pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases for Missouri State in the bottom of the first, Hewitt walked Ryan Mantle to plate the game's first run. Brayde Drake made it a 3-0 margin with a double down the left field line before Hewitt recorded a strikeout and a ground out to end the inning. Ben Woodbury and Matt Lawson added RBI singles in the bottom of the second to push the lead to 5-0.

SLU drew a pair of walks in the top of the third but could not take advantage of the free base runners. Hewitt held the Bears scoreless in the bottom of the frame before yielding two more runs in the bottom of the fourth. A pair of singles opened the inning, and Nolan Keane and Lawson each slapped an RBI ground out as the Bears staked a 7-0 lead.

With two outs in the top of the fifth, Ziggy Moore drove a double to center field and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Dunn picked up the RBI on a single to third. A wild pitch moved Dunn to second, but MSU starter Chris Mackey got out of the inning with a ground out. Drake got the run back with a solo home run off SLU reliever B.J. Rodrigue in the bottom of the inning, and Josh Mazzola added a solo shot of his own for the final margin.

Mackey picked up the win for MSU, improving to x-x on the season as he allowed just one run on four hits and struck out six in six innings. Hewitt fell to 0-5 with the loss, yielding seven runs on nine hits in four innings on the mound. Drake's three RBI were a game high, while Pinnell led the Billiken offense with two hits.

The Billikens return to Atlantic 10 play this weekend when they host Xavier in a three-game series at The Billiken Sports Center. The series begins Fri., March 30, at 7 p.m.