The Saint Louis University baseball team continued its season
long struggles in yesterday’s loss against the University of
Tennessee at Martin at Skyhawk Field in Martin, Tennessee.

SLU was overwhelmed in the fourth inning on their way to a 14-4
final score.

The Billikens held their own with the Skyhawks through the early
innings, tying the score 3-3 after three. That’s when the
floodgates let loose.

The Skyhawks broke it open with a seven-run mauling in the
fourth that the Billikens could not to overcome.

UT-Martin only had two hits in the inning; but four walks and
two critical Billiken errors knocked out SLU starter Joe Buehler.
Freshman reliever Pat Barmann came in to get the final out of the
inning.

The Billikens could not seem to make their way back into the
game, despite matching the Skyhawks with 14 hits.

The Billikens toyed with a rally in the top of the fifth, but
UT-Martin reliever Jarrad Robinson killed those hopes for the Bills
and made it out of the inning, allowing only one run.

The Skyhawks added another score in the bottom of the sixth, and
three more, including two bases loaded walks, in the bottom of the
seventh to bring the final tally to 14-4.

Senior centerfielder Kyle Wort led the Bills with four hits in
five at-bats, and one run scored.

The loss went to Billiken starter Joe Buehler, who gave up five
earned runs in three and one-third innings.

The loss dropped the senior’s record to 0-3 on the season, and
raised his earned run average to 11.17. The win went to Skyhawk
reliever Robinson, his first win of the season.

Things looked brighter for the Billikens after a hard fought win
over in-state rival Southeast Missouri State on Tuesday.

The Billikens beat the Tribe 6-4 in the Billiken Sports Center.
The Bills were led by Seniors Kris Weber and Dave Guntorius, who
turned in stellar performances on the mound. Seniors Drew Eder and
Wort led the Billikens batters with two runs batted in a piece.

The win dropped SEMO to 16-16, and improved the Bills to 10-23
for their respective seasons.

The Bills were looking up after the big win, but let a winnable
game slip through their grasp, with mental mistakes and out of
control arms. The Billikens return home this weekend, and look to
right all of their wrongs.

Next up for the Billikens is in-conference opponent, the Houston
Cougars, starting this Friday in St. Louis. Friday’s match will be
the first of a three game series, with the Cougars, that will end
on Sunday.

The Cougars are 14-21 on their season, with their most recent
loss to Texas A&M.

The number 13 ranked Aggies beat the Cougars 8-1 on Tuesday in
College Station, Texas. The Billikens are looking to use the
weekend series to redirect them from a streak that has seen them
lose eight of their last 10 games.

The Bills look for a strong showing over their in-conference
rival will give them some momentum heading into the remainder of
their season.