April 28, 2007

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - After carrying a substantial lead into the ninth inning, Saint Louis mounted a furious 11th-inning rally to claim a 14-10 victory at Temple in Atlantic 10 baseball action this afternoon at Skip Wilson Field. The Billikens tied their season high of 19 hits and were helped by seven Temple errors. Senior Ryan Crespi paced the prolific offense with a career afternoon, tying his personal bests with four hits, three RBI and three runs scored. Sophomore Mark Zielinski collected his first win of the season after shutting down the Owls in the bottom of the 10th.

The Billikens got off to another quick start with Ryan Crespi leading off the first inning with a double to left center. After Tom Pinnell sacrificed him to third, Casey Moore put SLU up 1-0 with a sacrifice fly to right. The Owls answered immediately, plating a pair of runs on three straight two-out doubles in the bottom of the frame.

In the second inning, Casey Moore ground ball. Asjes walked Greg Rodgers but got out of the inning trailing just 3-2 with a fly ball and another ground out.

The offensive barrage, aided by three Temple errors, continued in the top of the fourth. Casey Moore drove in his second run of the day via the sacrifice fly, and, after Rodgers drew another walk, Musselman made it a 7-2 contest with his second double of the game.

Building a cushion into the Billikens' lead, Rohr was rolling in the bottom halves of the next three innings, allowing just two base runners during the stretch. In the bottom of the seventh, however, it was the Owls' turn to capitalize on errors. After an error and double put two runners in scoring position, pinch hitter Tom Dolan cut into the Billikens' lead with an RBI ground out. Stan Orzechowski ripped an RBI single to left and a bases-loaded single from Kris Weber pulled Temple within 7-5 before Rohr closed out the extended inning.

SLU got one of the runs back in the top of the eighth as the inning opened with Casey Moore and yielded a two-out single to Musselman, the Owls went back to the bullpen for Richie Gargel, who closed the inning with a strikeout. The Owls threatened in the bottom of the inning as Mike Kelch drove a one-out triple down the right field line, but Rohr shut down the rally with his fourth strikeout of the game and a fly ball to left.

The Billikens continued to thrive in the ninth as Rodrigue was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning then scored on Casey Moore to load the bases. Ziggy Moore scored when Rodgers drew a walk, his seventh in two games against the Owls. Rodrigue replaced Rohr on the mound in the bottom of the inning, and the Owls took advantage with three straight two-out singles to cut the lead to 10-7. Kelch added a double down the left field line to pull within 10-8. Jamie Abercrombie tied things up with a two-run single through the right side before Rodrigue could close out the frame.

The Billikens loaded the bases in the top of the 10th, but Weber held the tie on a ground ball of Pinnell's bat. In the bottom of the inning, Zielinski worked around a one-out single from Lenny DelGrippo by getting a double-play ball from Stan Orzechowski.

In the decisive 11th inning, Casey Moore kicked things off with a single through the left side. Casey Moore and Bennett to score and sent Musselman to third. Matt Blackburn replaced Weber on the mound and struck out Bratcher for the first out. Rodrigue piled on with an RBI single to left center, and freshman Ziggy Moore took the mound and retired the Owls in order to secure the victory for Zielinski.

Musselman matched Crespi for game-high honors with a career-high tying four hits, including two doubles. Crespi's three RBI were also a game-high, while Casey Moore added two.

The teams will settle the three-game series on Sun., April 29, at 11 a.m. (CT).