ST. LOUIS -- Damian Rivera
tossed six shutout innings, and C.J.
Rose and Danny Brennan drove in
three runs apiece to lead Saint Louis to its 13th consecutive victory, a 10-1
triumph over Temple Sunday afternoon at the Billiken Sports Center.
The Billikens, who added to their school-record winning
streak, improved to 19-5 overall and 3-0 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Temple fell to 10-14, 0-3.
Rivera (2-2) scattered five hits, struck out four and did
not walk a batter. James Norwood and Travis Parker each registered a
scoreless inning in relief.
Grant Nelson led
SLU's 15-hit attack with a 3-for-4 effort that included a double. Connor Gandossy was 2-for-3 with a
triple, while Brennan was 2-for-5. Eleven Billikens picked up at least one hit.
Saint Louis scored a run in
the first inning after Marco DiRoma
reached base and advanced to second on an error by the Temple shortstop. With two outs and two on, Nelson
unloaded on a 2-and-1 pitch off the left-field wall to plate DiRoma and put the
Bills up 1-0.
Steve Fernandez
drew a four-pitch walk with one out in the third inning and advanced to second
on Mike Vigliarolo's single to
center field. Brennan laced a single to left field that scored Fernandez, and
Vigliarolo scored when the left fielder misplayed the ball, putting Saint Louis on top 3-0.
Gandossy led off the fourth with a triple to deep right-center
field, just out of the reach of center fielder Jabair Khan. Alec Sole drove in Gandossy with a
single down the left-field line.
Sole welcomed relief pitcher Dan Moller with a stolen base
on the first pitch. DiRoma singled to second base, and Sole scored when the second
baseman threw the ball away. DiRoma stole second and moved to third on an
errant throw by the catcher before scoring on Alex Kelly's sacrifice fly for a 6-0 Billiken lead.
Saint Louis
plated two more runs in the sixth. A.J.
Vandervorste drew a full-count walk to start the inning. After two quick
outs, Nelson singled through the right side for his third hit of the game. Rose
made it 8-0 with a pinch-hit double to deep center.
Temple
got on the board in the eighth, only to see SLU counter with two tallies in the
bottom of the frame.
Singles by Jerry
Mancuso and Jordan Hammerman and
a Temple error
loaded the bases with one out. Rose's sacrifice fly scored Mancuso, and
Brennan's single chased home Hammerman with the final run.
The Billikens are back in action Tuesday, March 27, at
Eastern Illinois. Game time is 3 p.m.