A three-game road trip capped by a Monday home game proved to be
difficult for the Saint Louis University baseball team, as it
dropped all four games. The Billikens fell to the Conference USA
Charlotte 49ers in Charlotte on three consecutive days and could
not hold on to a win in their fourth game in five days to the
University of Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks.

The Bills (6-14, 0-3 C-USA) spent the weekend battling Charlotte
after a four game home stand. In Friday’s opening game, the 49ers
(11-6, 3-0 C-USA) were able to pull out a one-run win over the SLU
team.

Junior Scott Peden, a transfer from Western Texas, made good on
his first at bat in the C-USA competition. Peden hit a two-run home
run to start off the scoring for the day. Peden and senior Kyle
Wort scored on a two-run single from junior Patrick Valdez to make
the Billiken lead 4-1. Four runs proved not to be enough, however,
and the 49ers tallied four more runs in the final three innings, to
take the lead and the game.

The two teams were back in action on Saturday, this time in an
offensive shootout. Another newcomer proved to be the offensive
star of the day, with the honor going to freshman Jon Greenwich in
this game. In part of his three-RBI showing was Greenwich’s first
career home run. Greenwich’s first two RBIs came in the fifth on
his home run and doubled the SLU lead to 4-0. The game turned in
the 49er’s half of the sixth, when a six-run, two-out rally brought
three Bills to the mound. Charlotte took a 10-6 lead and never
looked back, as each team crossed the plate five more times. The
49ers prevailed over SLU by a final score of 16-11.

The series finale served as a modest offensive showing by both
teams, but still resulted in a 49er victory. Peden still hrld the
hot bat, as he posted two of the Bills’ four runs. But Charlotte
once again grabbed hold of the game after the Bills squandered
their lead. Freshman pitcher Ryan Bird posted a strong outing,
striking out eight while allowing only three runs through eight
innings.

Charlotte, however, was able to send the Bills home with their
fourth straight loss with a ninth-inning two-run home-run.

A long week was capped off by the team’s return to home, where
they did not fair much better. The Skyhawks were able to get the
better of the Bills with an 8-3 offensive explosion. UT-Martin
pounded Billiken pitching with 17 hits en route to their fifth win
of the season. Skyhawk pitching also dominated, as the Bills were
limited to four hits throughout the game.

The UT-Martin squad wasted no time in pouring it on, scoring
twice in the first and two more times in the third, which would
prove to be sufficient for the win. The Bills, however, allowed
eight runs while only crossing the plate three times
themselves.

A bright spot was Mark Hankes, a freshman from Granite City.,
who drove in two in the loss.

The Billikens visited the Bradley Braves last night in Peoria,
Ill. After falling behind early, they scrambled back to tie the
game at nine in the top of the ninth.

They even took a two-run lead in the top of the 11th, only to
see it slip away in the bottom of the inning. They ended up losing
12-11.

SLU returns home this weekend to open up a four-game home stand,
playing conference rival the University of Alabama-Birmingham at 7
p.m. on Friday and 1 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.

Eastern Illinois will also travel to St. Louis to face the Bills
at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.