ST. LOUIS - Saint Louis dropped a conference matchup against Massachusetts 6-5 on a ninth inning rally from the Minutemen. The Billikens are now 25-12 overall and 7-6 in the Atlantic 10. Junior LHP Jon Levin picks up his first loss of the season to fall to 2-1.

Junior Alex Alemann got the start and struggled in the early goings. Massachusetts scored once in the second and put three runs on the board in the fourth. On the day, Alemann went four innings, allowing nine hits, four earned runs while striking out two. His relief came in the form of freshman RHP James Norwood. Norwood threw 3.1 innings, surrendering four hits, one earned run and three strikeouts. The Billikens did not cough up a walk in the contest.

Offensively, the Billikens put together 11 hits, but could not drive in the runs when needed. Senior Jerry Mancuso had a great day at the plate. He went 1-for-2 with a two-run home run in the second and a hit-by-pitch. Eight different Bills notched a hit in the contest, but SLU left eight runners on base.

Senior RHP Travis Parker threw in the ninth inning and yet again did not allow an earned run. He has now gone 28 innings without allowing an earned run, dating back to last season.

Saint Louis will look to rebound tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. at the Billiken Sports Complex for game two of the three-game series.