March 17, 2008
BRADENTON, Fla. - Sophomore designated hitter Mike Beal (St. Louis, Mo./SLUH) went 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles and junior Ziggy Moore (Lake St. Louis, Mo./Holt) stroked a two-run double in addition to picking up the save on the mound as Saint Louis dispatched Maryland-Baltimore County 12-9 today at the IMG Academy College Baseball Classic in Bradenton, Fla. The Billikens evened their record at 7-7 while posting season-highs in runs and hits.
Saint Louis led 7-0 through three innings and 11-2 through six, but UMBC (6-8) plated seven runs in the bottom of the seventh to make it interesting. However, junior right-hander Ziggy Moore got the final nine outs of the game to pick up his first save of the year. Junior starter Chris Merrick (Forest Hill, Md./Catonsville CC) earned the first win of his career after throwing six innings.
The Billikens were on the board early and often. In the top of the first, sophomore center fielder J.D. Dunn (Franklin, Tenn./Centennial) singled, and advanced to third on junior Tom Pinnell's (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) double. Senior Greg Rodgers (St. Charles, Mo./Francis Howell) then ripped an RBI single to plate Dunn and put the Billikens up 1-0.
Saint Louis plated two more in the second on an RBI double by Dunn and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Pinnell. SLU's big inning came in the third. Beal lead off with a double, and the bases were loaded after sophomore Ziggy Moore, cleared the bases with a two-run double to put the Billikens up 7-0 through two-and-a-half innings.
The Retrievers sliced into their deficit with two runs in the bottom of the third, but the Billikens quickly got those runs back in the top-half of the fourth when Beal, Guerra and Parsons all doubled, generating RBIs for Guerra and Parsons. Following a scoreless fifth, UMBC looked as though it would get out of the sixth with no further damage, but a dropped third strike with two outs and a throwing error on the ensuing putout attempt at first base allowed two Billikens to score to make it 11-2 through six.
Saint Louis pushed across another run in the seventh before UMBC rallied for a seven-spot in the bottom of the seventh. But Ziggy Moore, who last week baffled Southeast Missouri for four innings late in the ballgame, did the same against UMBC with three scoreless innings. Overall, he allowed no runs on four hits while striking out two. Merrick allowed six earned runs on nine hits while fanning three and walking none.
In addition to his two doubles, Beal reached two other times after drawing a pair of walks. Dunn was 3-for-4 with two doubles, and Pinnell went 1-for-2 with an RBI. Overall, the Billikens clubbed a season-high 13 hits, while their 12 runs are also a season high.
The Bills return to the diamond tomorrow morning when they face Lafayette. First pitch is slated for 9 a.m. (CT).
Saint Louis 124 202 100 - 12 13 0
UMBC 002 000 700 - 9 17 2
WP: Chris Merrick (1-0) LP: David Divita (1-2)
Save: Ziggy Moore (1)
HRs - None
