Three losses in the past week dashed the Saint Louis University
(2-6) baseball team’s hopes of getting off to a fast start. Scoring
only three runs in the past three games have made wins hard to come
by.
On Tuesday, SLU fell in a tight 2-0 contest with Evansville, who
shut down the Billikens largely with a dominating outing from
starter Mitch Prout, who struck out 11 and gave up only three
hits.
In the bottom of the fifth, with runners on second and third,
Evansville’s Eric Jones dropped a single into center to score what
would be the deciding run.
SLU got a boost with strong pitching from freshman Ryan Bird,
who threw a complete game with seven strikeouts and only one earned
run. However, the muted Billiken bats failed to produce any run
support, and SLU picked up their third loss of the past week.
“Hitting is a weird thing,” said sophomore outfielder Jimmy
Sweeney. “We just need to do some little things to get it going and
that big inning will come.”
Last weekend, the Bills dropped two in a three-game series
against the Creighton Blue Jays. Their only win came on Friday in
the way of an 8-2 route. Junior shortstop Pat Steinhoff led the way
offensively, collecting a three-RBI single in the fourth inning,
complemented by a strong outing by starting pitcher Dave Guntorius
(1-1), who allowed only one earned run and struck out six over
seven innings.
starting pitcher Eric Wordekemper gave up a single to Kyle Wort,
then ran into a spurt of wildness–hitting two batters–to
eventually load the bases for Steinhoff who knocked a three-run
single into right field. The Bills left the inning with a 5-1 lead,
which would be enough to top Creighton by the final 8-2 score.
For SLU, Tim Landy and Adam Schroeder each added an inning of
scoreless relief and third-baseman Patrick Valdez had a 3-3 night
with two RBIs and a run scored.
On Saturday and Sunday, the Bills did not fare so well, losing
by respective scores of 3-0 and 11-1.
The 3-0 loss came at the hands of a solid outing by Creighton
starter Steve Grasley, who struck out seven and only walked one
batter through eight innings.
For the Jays, they got on the board in the top of the third with
a two-out, two-run rally with RBIs from Zach Daegas and Dave
Schultz. The Jays added one additional run in the sixth, for
insurance.
Joe Buehler (0-2) took the loss for the Bills.
On Sunday, a sixth-inning, seven-run onslaught by Creighton
doomed the Bills as they fell to their second straight loss. Daegas
opened up the game for the Jays, hitting a two-run double as
Creighton scored three runs before the Bills were able to record a
single out.
Jerry Vickery scored SLU’s only run off a sacrifice by center
fielder Jon Guyre.
The Billikens were scheduled to play Bradley yesterday
afternoon, but the game was canceled due to rain. The teams plan on
rescheduling if possible.
“The big thing is, we saw what we were capable of with a
positive win on Friday,” Sweeney said of the weekend series. “Now,
we just need to play at that consistent level.”
Next up, SLU faces another weekend series against the University
of Illinois-Chicago at the Billikens Sports Center. Friday’s game
will be a nightcap at 7, followed by afternoon contests on Saturday
and Sunday, both at 1 p.m.
Billikens host Illinois-Chicago
Who: University of Illinois-Chicago Flames
When: Tomorrow, 7 p.m.
Where: Billikens Sports Center
