April 30, 2010
Box Score
ST. LOUIS - Saint Louis junior Jon Myers drew a bases loaded walk in the 14th inning to hand the Billikens an 8-7 victory against St. Bonaventure Friday in Atlantic 10 Conference baseball action at The Billiken Sports Center.
The Billikens (21-20, 9-7 A-10) and Bonnies (13-24, 5-11 A-10) will go at it again tomorrow at 1 p.m. Check SLUBillikens.com for scheduling updates due to weather. Also, check the bottom of this story for important parking information for tomorrow's game.
Danny Brock and Myers posted two hits apiece, with Brock and Zach Miller each drawing three walks.
Bryant Cotton was the SLU starter and went a school-record 10-2/3 innings in the no decision. He allowed seven runs (six earned) on 12 hits while striking out seven. Relievers Andrew Buckham and Andres Wiltz all shut down the Bonnies. Wiltz (2-0) was credited with the victory after pitching the top of the 14th.
SLU quickly loaded the bases in the bottom of the 14th. Gandossy led off with a grounder up the middle that took a bad hop on the SBU second baseman, hitting him in the head. Gandossy kept running and eventually made his way to second for a double as the SBU fielder had trouble getting to his feet and locating the ball.
After a Levine walk, Dunn reached on an infield single. Then with two outs, Myers took a full-count payoff pitch to plate Gandossy for the winning run.
The game went into extra innings tied 6-6, and both teams scored in the 11th. SBU's Michael Grieco scored on an error in the top half of the inning, and the Billikens answered in the bottom of the 11th. Dunn walked, and eventually found himself on third following a stolen base and a wild pitch. With two outs, Dunn broke for the plate on a wild pitch and slid under the tag to continue the game.
SLU opened up a 6-0 lead in the game before seeing SBU rally to tie up. In the first, Cody Cotter, Dunn and Brock walked before Myers plated a run with a single to put SLU on top 2-0. SLU then pushed across two more on a Miller fielder's choice and a SBU error to give the Billikens a 3-0 lead after one.
Miller drove in another run with a single up the middle in the third, and the Billikens plated two runners in the fourth on a Levine double and Dunn sacrifice fly to stretch the SLU lead to 6-0.
Meanwhile, Cotton kept the Bonnies off the board until the fifth thanks in part to strong Billiken defense. In the top of the third, Cotter made a remarkable over-the-shoulder catch while diving onto the warning track to prevent a run.
The Bonnies plated five runs in the fifth on a two-run double by Nick Cunliffe, a run on a wild pitch and RBI hits off the bats of Jason Radwan and Jesse Bosnik.
In the sixth, Brad Steinbach delivered an RBI single to tie the game at 6-6, which remained the score until each school scored in the 11th.
Cotton retired the Bonnies in order in the seventh and worked around a leadoff single in the eighth. He retired the Bonnies in order again in the ninth, and got out the 10th inning unscathed after allowing a leadoff single.
SLU again benefited from a strong defensive play as Dunn tracked down a long fly ball in center, making an over-the-shoulder grab to end the 12th.
IMPORTANT PARKING INFORMATION FOR SATURDAY
Olive and Lindells Boulevards will be closed Saturday, May 1, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The easiest way to The Billiken Sports Center for Saturday's 1 p.m. game will be from Compton Ave., which is accessible from both Choteau and Market Streets. Fans are encouraged to park in the Olive/Compton parking garage.
