May 3, 2008

Box Score

RICHMOND, Va. - Senior designated hitter Greg Rodgers blasted a pair of solo home runs, and sophomore second baseman Andrew Guerra belted a two-run shot and drove in five runs to lift Saint Louis to a key 12-3 win over Richmond in Atlantic 10 Conference baseball action Saturday at Pitt Field.

The Billikens improve to 22-24 overall and 7-13 in the A-10, while Richmond dips to 17-25-2 overall and 8-11-1 in the league. The two teams meet up tomorrow for the rubber match of the series at 11 a.m. (CT).

Just one day after slugging his third home run of the season, Rodgers continued that trend with a pair of solo bombs. Overall, he went 4-for-4 with four RBIs and two runs scored. Guerra, who posted a career-high five RBIs, also tied SLU's single-season doubles record when he poked his 18th double of the season in the eighth inning.

Junior right-hander Dave Sever put together his second-straight quality outing after going eight innings and allowing two runs (one earned) on seven hits with seven Ks for his fourth win of the season.

Rodgers hit is first homer of the day in the second inning to put the Billikens up 1-0, though the Spiders answered with a run in the third on a game-tying RBI single by Derek Boliek.

The Billikens reclaimed the lead in the fourth when Rodgers lifted the first pitch he saw over the right-field fence to put the Billikens ahead 2-1.

SLU built on that lead with a four-run fifth. Junior Ryan Johnson walked, then ended up on third after a Casey Moore base hit. Ziggy Moore then plated Johnson on an infield single to make it 3-1 SLU. Guerra drove a run home with a sacrifice fly, and Ziggy Moore scored on a wild pitch to advance the Billikens' lead to 6-1.

The Spiders tallied an unearned run in the fifth to cut their deficit to 6-2, but SLU answered back in the seventh and plated a pair of runs on Guerra's fourth home run of the year. Ryan Bennett, who led off the frame with a hit-by-pitch, scored on the two-run variety shot to left field.

Guerra picked a good time for his record-tying double. Ziggy Moore and Bennett reached on back-to-back, one-out singles in the eighth, and Guerra plated them both with a double to left-center field. He is now tied with Jason Boehlow for the single-season mark, a feat he accomplished during the 1992 season. Rodgers kept the momentum going when he drove in Guerra with a single through the right side to put SLU up 11-2 through eight.

Mike Beal hit a solo homer in the ninth, giving SLU a 12-2 lead and a season-high four home runs on the day. It is the most home runs by a SLU team since the 2004 team belted a single-game record six homers against Eastern Illinois.

Reliever Mark Zielinski, who relieved Sever at the start of the ninth, worked around a lead-off home run and got the final three outs for the 12-3 victory for Saint Louis.

Overall, the Billikens recorded 16 hits on the afternoon, which is a season-high in a conference game.