March 5, 2007

Box Score

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - After compiling just six hits in its first game against Saint Louis, the New Mexico bats came alive during the rematch as they scorched the Billiken pitching staff for 18 hits en route to a 17-5 win Monday at Olsen Field on the final day of the Domino's Pizza Aggie Baseball Classic in College Station, Texas. SLU returns to action on Wed., March 7 when it travels to SEMO for a 3 p.m. contest.

New Mexico (7-11) wasted little time putting three runs on the board before SLU (1-9) even had a chance to bat. Matt Foote singled to right field and Billiken starter Eric Rohr (Belleville, Ill./Belleville West) walked the next batter to put a pair on for the Lobos. A Jordan Pacheco single loaded the bases before SLU got its first out. Matt Hibbitts brought in the first run with a sacrifice fly to left field and Dan Hamilton's two-RBI double to left center gave UNM a three-run advantage.

The Billikens got one of those runs back in the bottom of the first after Gilbert Marlowe (Glendale, Mo./Southwestern Illinois) drew a one-out walk from Ryan Escarcega (1-1). He went to second on a Greg Rodgers (St. Charles, Mo./St. Charles CC) single and scored on Blake Bratcher's (Goodlettsville, Tenn./Volunteer State CC) RBI single to left field. But the Lobos pulled away in the top of the third as they loaded the bases on three straight singles to begin the frame. SLU's first out came on a fielder's choice but New Mexico manufactured a pair of runs on Mark Rockey's infield single and a Billiken error to go up by four. A Scott Gracey sacrifice fly pushed the score out to 6-1. Then in the fourth, two one-out singles, a sacrifice fly and another Saint Louis error made it 8-1 in favor of the Lobos.

Bratcher got SLU's offense going in the bottom of the fourth with a leadoff walk. B.J. Rodrigue (Destrehan, La./Brother Martin) tacked on a single before UNM got its first out on Ziggy Moore's (Lake St. Louis, Mo./Wentzville Holt) fielder's choice, which put runners on the corners. Tom Pinnell (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) followed with an RBI double to left field to cut the margin to six just before Moore scored on L.J. Watson's (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township) RBI groundout to make it 8-3.

Saint Louis' spirit dipped even more in the fifth as New Mexico came right back with two more runs for the 10-3 lead. Rockey and Gracey hit back-to-back singles to rally the Lobos. The Bills then got consecutive outs on a fielder's choice and a pickoff at first. However, Rohr (0-1) issued a walk to the next batter and surrendered a two-run double, knocking himself out of the game after allowing eight earned runs on 13 hits, three walks and two strikeouts. Reliever Mark Zielinski (Maryland Heights, Mo./DeSmet) fanned the next batter to escape the inning. He blanked the Lobos in 3-1/3 innings while allowing just one walk and striking out three.

Eric Mueller (Columbia, Mo./Hickman) started the ninth inning on the mound but didn't fare too well as he gave up a one-out walk before Rockey recorded his third hit of the game. With runners on first and second, Gracey singled to right field for the Lobos' first run of the frame. Pinch hitter Adam Courcha then singled to centerfield to push the lead out to nine runs. Mueller walked the next two batters to push a free run across and UNM's Daniel Stovall connected on a two-run single to left field for the 15-3 lead.

Reliever Chris Paulson (Falcon Heights, Minn./Cretin-Derham) entered the game with one down and runners on first and second in the top of the ninth. Paulson gave up a free pass to the first batter he faced and then New Mexico's Hamilton hit a two-run single for the 16th and 17th Lobo runs. He fanned the next two Lobos to give SLU one final chance to answer.

Rodrigue, who had two of SLU's six hits, singled to start the ninth and pinch hitters Ryan Bennett (Kansas City, Mo./Miami [Ohio]) and Matt Mach (St. Louis, Mo./MICDS) drew walks to load the bases for the Billikens. Following a strikeout, J.D. Dunn (Franklin, Tenn./Centennial) plated Rodrigue on a sacrifice fly to centerfield for SLU's first run since the fourth inning. Marlowe added an RBI single for Saint Louis' fifth and final run of the contest.