The Saint Louis University baseball team continued its rollercoaster season last week, with varied results spread throughout three series.
The Billikens celebrated St. Patrick’s Day by hosting the Redbirds of Illinois State. The series opened with a winner in the first game of the set, downing ISU by a margin of 5-1. Sophomore pitcher Dave Sever shouldered the load, as he picked up his first win of the season.
After yielding a run in the first, Sever settled in and spread five hits and three walks through eight innings. The run came after Collin Salzenstein led off the game with a double.
After getting Matt Bolt to pop out, Sever gave up another double, this time to Ryan Anetsberger. Anetsberger’s double plated Salzenstein, to give the Redbirds an early lead.
SLU answered in the bottom half of the inning, as Tom Pinnell made his way around to score. After reaching on a single, Pinnell advanced to third on an error, and then scored on a Gilbert Marlowe infield groundout. Blake Bratcher belted a home run in the second to give the Bills the lead.
The Bills added two ensurance runs in the sixth to earn their second victory of the season. Sever earned Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week honors for his performance.
The teams met for a second time on Saturday, and the Bills triumphed again. Both teams scored in the third, and then each team tallied three more in the sixth. A Kevin Konsler single plated two for the Redbirds, while Bratcher drove in two for the Bills with his own single.
The squads remained deadlocked into the 12th, until SLU scored the winner when L.J. Watson crossed the plate on a Ryan Crespi single.
With the Bills already in control of the series, the teams met again on Sunday for the final game of the three-game set. For the third game in a row, the Redbirds scored first. After Salzenstein singled and stole second, a Kevin Dubler single brought Salzenstein across the plate.
SLU tied up the game in the fifth on a Crespi run. Crespi got on base after being hit by a pitch, then stole second and scored on a Bill Musselman single.
ISU took the lead for good in the top of the ninth, as they poured in five runs. Chris Paulson took the loss for the Bills after giving up five runs on four hits in two-thirds of an inning.
After taking the ISU series, the Bills played host for a one-game stand with the Skyhawks of Tennessee-Martin. The bats were quiet for both teams in this contest, as SLU pitcher Eric Rohr went the distance to post the first Billiken shutout victory. The Bills only plated one run in the victory.
Pinnell started the SLU sixth with a leadoff walk and moved into scoring position by stealing second. Bratcher moved Pinnell along on an infield groundout, and a Greg Rodgers single drove Pinnell in. While the Skyhawks threatened in the ninth by advancing Blake Turner to third, Rohr shut down UT-Martin before he could cross the plate.
Wednesday’s game played out quite differently, as the Bills played host to the Aces of Evansville. In a slugfest that yielded 36 combined hits, the Aces trumped SLU by a score of 20-10.
Once again, the Bills gave up a run in the opening inning. This time, Jim Viscomi led off the game with a double and advanced to third on ground out. Kasey Wahl hit an outfield single to score Viscomi, but Wahl was called out as he tried to stretch his hit into a double, leaving the bases empty.
SLU had a quick response, as they plated four runs in the second frame. Musselman began the inning by reaching on a throwing error and moved to third on a Crespi bunt. He came around to score on a B.J. Rodrigue single. Two batters later, Ziggy Moore singled to left field and a throwing error on the play brought Rodrigue home. A Pinnell single scored J.D. Dunn, and Moore came around on a sacrifice fly.
Despite the Billiken production, two monster innings assured the win for the Aces. Two errors contributed to eight Evansville runs on eight hits in the third, and the bombardment continued into the fourth, when six more runs came across.
The Bills emptied out their bullpen to meet the rigors of the Evansville lineup, as five pitchers toed the rubber for SLU. None of the hurlers completed more than two-and two-thirds innings. The loss went to Dan Cowsert. Evansville also used five arms in the game.
SLU will continue their home stand on Friday, as they host A-10 foe Charlotte at the Billiken Sports Complex. First pitch is at 7 p.m.
