The Saint Louis University baseball team entered Columbia with a newfound swagger, unseen in the past couple of seasons. They were riding high on a five-game winning streak and conjured up thoughts of upsetting their much more renowned, cross-state rival for the second-straight year.
Unfortunately, facing the No. 18 team in the nation can bring even the hottest team to its knees, as the Billikens found out. After a hot-hitting weekend where everything clicked in all phases of the game, the Billikens played arguably their poorest game of the year in a 16-0 loss to the Missouri Tigers.
Freshman Dave Sever, after an impressive first start at Bradley, struggled mightily against the heavy-hitting Tigers. He lasted one inning, giving up seven earned runs and walking five. The entire pitching staff struggled on the day, allowing 12 walks in addition to the 16 runs.
The Billiken offense was equally woeful, mustering up five hits and only six baserunners on the day. Meanwhile, the Tigers managed to rack up their 16 runs while still leaving 10 on base.
Tiger pitching was extremely effective; starter Stephan Holst and three other relievers combined to walk only one and strike out 12 in the shutout.
The stretch followed the most successful run in recent memory for the Billikens-they had managed to win five in a row, making up for their five-game losing streak that started the season.
Over the weekend, before the game with Mizzou, the team swept South Dakota State.
On Friday, the team dominated from start to finish in an 18-5 victory. Ryan Bird won his second game of the year, striking out a career-high 10, in seven innings of work.
“Overall, the team played excellent. I moved up a day in the rotation because of an injury, and I was eager to get back on the mound. I knew once our offense came through with that eight-run inning I could stay relaxed and pitch my game,” said Bird.
The offense had its most prolific game of the year. Senior outfielder Jon Guyre notched a school-record three doubles, and junior catcher Bill Musselman notched four hits. The team notched 23 hits for the game.
“Honestly, I was seeing the ball better. Our team was pumped up for the series in general. We had just come off a two-game win streak, and we knew we had a good opportunity to get back to .500 this weekend. We played the entire series under control and executed,” Guyre said.
The balls continued to fly off Billiken bats in game two, on Saturday afternoon. The team won handily, 12-1. Senior first basemen Tim Landy and junior third baseman Gilbert Marlowe each recorded three RBIs. Freshman shortstop Matt Mach went 3-5 on the day.
Junior starting pitcher Eric Rohr followed up Bird’s performance with a gem of his own. He allowed one run on five hits, in eight innings. He struck out a career high and allowed only one base-on-balls.
The second game of the doubleheader produced a lot more drama, but the same result for the Billikens, who won 5-4. The team found itself down 3-0 in the fifth inning and 4-2 in the ninth, when the team staged its last-ditch heroics.
Musselman led the inning off with a single to center. Marlowe then reached base on an error, and junior Casey Moore loaded the bases with a single.
A balk and a wild pitch from SDSU reliever Caleb Theilbar allowed Musselman to score, tying the game at four.
With one out and sophomore Lance Rhodes coming to the plate, the Jackrabbits opted to pull an outfielder out of the game in favor of an extra infielder. The managerial move backfired; Rhodes came up with a clutch hit into the empty right field gap, giving the Bills the improbable win and the sweep.
“It was the bottom of the ninth; we thought we could still win. I was on deck, and the pitcher walked the first run in, and then a passed ball tied the game. That’s when Lance Rhodes just came up big,” Guyre said.
The win gave SLU a five-game winning streak, their longest since the 2002 season.
“The first couple of games, the starting pitching gave up a few runs early, and we had to come from behind. This weekend we hit the ball and started executing on offense. Our whole lineup came up big, and the starters took care of their business. The whole team seemed to be on the same page and was ready to play,” Bird said.
So, although the loss to Mizzou put quite an emphatic end to the streak, considering where the season began, this SLU team is looking to the future with optimism.
The team looks to bounce back with a three-game home set against the Illinois-Chicago Flames beginning Friday. The first pitch is set for 2 p.m. at the Billiken Sports Center.
