April 26, 2009

Box Score

ST. LOUIS - Saint Louis did not get its offense going until late in game one, and the Billikens came up short in an eight-inning 3-2 loss to Atlantic 10 Conference foe La Salle on Sunday afternoon at The Billiken Sports Center. In game two, SLU rallied for two runs in the fourth and held on for a 2-0 win over the Explorers. The win helped the Bills remain tied for second with Charlotte in the A-10 standings after the 49ers split with league-leader Massachusetts on Sunday.

Saint Louis (21-27, 12-4 A-10) and starting pitcher Kelcie Matesa worked out of bases-loaded jams in the early innings. In the first, the Explorers used a SLU error, a double and a one-out walk to load the bases. But Matesa struck out the next two batters to end the threat. With one down in the third, La Salle filled the bases with a single, a Billiken error and a base on balls. Once again, Matesa and the Bills kept the game a scoreless tie, using a fielder's choice and a strikeout to prevent the Explorers from scoring.

The Billikens missed an opportunity to break into the scoring column in the bottom of the fourth. Rachel Heet doubled down the left-field line and advanced to third on Brittney Schmidt made a break for second base to try to bait the Explorers into a rundown so Heet could score from third. La Salle held Heet at the hot corner but Schmidt managed to steal second to give Saint Louis two runners in scoring position. But La Salle starter Gina Massaro got the next batter to fly out to center field to end the frame.

La Salle (8-25, 6-10 A-10) went up by two in the top of the sixth. DJ Guinn reached on a leadoff single, but Matesa induced a pop out and threw Guinn out at second on a fielder's choice for the second out. The Explorers loaded the bases when Matesa issued a pair of walks. Then Massaro helped her own cause with a two-run double to the gap in left center for the 2-0 lead.

SLU trimmed the margin to one in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Rachel O'Connell doubled to left field to trigger the rally. Nicki Jost sliced an RBI single into right field to cut the deficit to 2-1. The Bills scored the tying run with one out in the seventh. Katie Johns drew a walk to ignite the rally. Then Caitlin Trevillyan reached on a bunt single before Liz Jones moved both runners over with a sacrifice bunt. Kerri Dockins knocked a hard chopper up the middle and the throw to the plate from La Salle's shortstop was late allowing pinch runner Rachel Faletto to score the tying run. With the winning run on third, the Bills were unable to score the go-ahead run as Massero got the next two hitters to fly out to end the threat.

Massero put her team up by one in the eighth. Laura Gallagher reached on an error to start the inning and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Then Massaro came through with an RBI single to the gap in right center to give her team the 3-2 edge. SLU tried to rally in the bottom of the inning after Heet doubled to left center and Jost walked to start the offense. Both runners moved up on a passed ball but La Salle used two pop outs and a ground out to capture the win.

Matesa (7-10) struck out a season-high 12 batters in the complete game, giving up three runs (two earned) on seven hits and four walks. Heet led the Billiken offense with two hits. Massaro powered the Explorer offense with three hits and three RBIs. La Salle stranded 13 runners in the game, while SLU stranded eight.

In game two, La Salle stranded runners in the first four innings but it was Saint Louis that finally broke into the scoring column in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Jost reached on an error and advanced to second on a ground out. After Johns was hit by a pitch, she and Jost pulled off the double steal to put the Bills up 1-0. Johns went to third on the throw to the plate before Trevillyan was hit by a pitch. Then Faletto smacked an RBI single into left field to make it 2-0.

The Explorers put two runners on the seventh inning due to walks but SLU starter Stacy Gillette got Massaro to pop out to end the threat and the game. Gillette (7-12) surrendered four hits and six walks while fanning four in the complete game. The Billikens' three hits came from Nicoletti, O'Connell and Faletto, who also had the game's lone RBI.