May 29, 2010

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CAMDEN, N.J. - Saint Louis completed its memorable run through the 2010 Atlantic 10 Conference Championship with a 5-4 victory over Charlotte Saturday, securing the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship and an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

It is SLU's second A-10 baseball crown after also winning the title in 2006. The Billikens will learn their NCAA Tournament destination and opponents when the field is announced during a selection show Monday, May 31, at 11:30 a.m. (CT) live on ESPN.

The win moves the Billikens to 33-27 on the year, breaking the school record for wins set previously by the 2006 club.

SLU completed the A-10 Championship with a 4-0 record. Entering the tourney as the No. 5 seed, the Billikens dispatched No. 4 Fordham, No. 1 Charlotte and No. 2 Xavier before upending the 49ers again today.

"First of all, I am so happy for our players," SLU third-year head coach Darin Hendrickson said. "They put it together at the right time and continued to push. I am also thrilled for what this will mean for the program and to Saint Louis University.

"We had a different hero each day of the tournament," Hendrickson continued. "The theme for us this week was that we never had to rely on just the middle of our lineup. Nine guys up and down the order contributed every game."

Bryant Cotton, who picked up the win Thursday against Charlotte and the save this afternoon, was named Most Outstanding Player of the A-10 Championship. Billikens joining him on the All-Championship Team were Ben Braaten and Mike Levine.

Charlotte got off to a strong start Saturday, scoring twice in the top of the first on a Ryan Rivers two-run home run to take an early lead.

But SLU responded and scored all the runs it would need in the bottom of the inning. With one out, J.D. Dunn started the rally with a single to center, and Danny Brock followed with a single of his own to put runners at the corners. Jon Myers pushed across the first Billiken run of the game with a sacrifice fly to cut the SLU deficit in half at 2-1.

With two down, Braaten singled through the right side to plate Brock and tie the score at 2-2. Andrew Guerra drew a walk, and SLU benefitted from a Charlotte error off the bat of Steve Fernandez, which loaded the bases. Jerry Mancuso cleared them all with a three-run double to right field, giving the Billikens a 5-2 lead, one it would not relinquish.

Charlotte, which entered the A-10 Championship as the league's top offensive team, began to chip away at the three-run deficit. The 49ers scored once in the fourth and once in the fifth to pull within one of the lead, subsequently chasing SLU starter Andrew Buckham from the game in favor of freshman reliever Jason Bell.

Bell, a St. Louis native from Parkway Central High School, would proceed to get the final out of the fifth and retire the 49ers in order in the sixth.

Charlotte had two men on in the sixth with one out, but Bell got a double-play ball initiated by shortstop Mike Levine to end the threat. Bell made quick work of the 49ers in the eighth inning before things got interesting in the ninth.

Bell quickly got the first two outs in the top of the inning, but Charlotte recorded two singles and drew a walk to load the bases. Hendrickson then called on Cotton, who came in on just one full day of rest to get the final out and send the Billikens to the NCAA Tournament.

"You are not going to win a college baseball tournament like this without a leader on the mound, and Bryant was just that this week," Hendrickson said. "The biggest game for us was the first win against Charlotte, where he pitched us to a tight win. That gave our team some confidence that we can play with the best teams in our league. It was only fitting for Cotton to come in and get the final out today. There is no question that he was the MVP, even though we had a bunch of guys who contributed today and throughout the entire tournament."

Bell picked up the win after twirling four innings of relief, shutting down the potent Charlotte offense and allowing just four hits. He struck also out three. Buckham had a no decision but pitched a strong 4-2/3 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits.