The Saint Louis University baseball team had a busy week taking on Fordham in a three-game series in the Bronx, and Southern Illinois in a one-game, wooden-bat classic. In the first game versus Fordham, Billikens pitcher Ryan Bird broke two of the school’s pitching records in career strikeouts and innings pitched, but this was not enough to ensure a win.
The Billikens started the game off strong, loading the bases on a Fordham error. Bill Musselman hit a grounder, which was enough for Tom Pinnell to come home, giving the Billikens a 1-0 advantage. The squad held the lead for two innings before Fordham was able to even the score in the third. The fourth inning saw four more runs plated by Fordham to put the lead to 5-1. The fourth inning also saw the Billikens fighting back, with Blake Bratcher slamming a triple to right center field, allowing Musselman, who had reached on an earlier base hit, to come home. After holding the score at 5-2 for two innings, the Billikens started a rally in the seventh. L.J. Watson started the ball rolling with a single to center; he was advanced to second on a grounder by Ryan Bennett, and was sent home with an RBI single to left field by Pinnell. The score remained 5-3 until the eighth inning, when Fordham knocked in two more runs to make the score 7-3. The Billikens rallied in the ninth when Fordham’s reliever walked in one run, but it was not enough. The Billikens lost, 7-4.
Game two versus Fordham fared much better for the Billikens. SLU was first on the board for the second straight game, this time in the second inning. Bratcher smacked a double to right field. This was followed with an RBI single to deep right field by Ryan Crespi, allowing Bratcher to score from second. After a quiet bottom of the second, the Billikens struck again in the top of the third. With two outs, the Fordham starter hit Casey Moore, and proceeded to walk the next three batters. After one run already in this inning, B.J. Rodrigue came through with a triple to score three more runs and give the Billikens a 5-0 lead. At the same time, Eric Rohr, the Billikens’ starting pitcher, was handling Fordham well, keeping them scoreless until the sixth, when Fordham scored two. In the top of the eighth, the Billikens had a mini-rally. It started with Rodrigue walking and then stealing second. This was followed by an RBI single to left center from Bennett. Pinnell also got on base through a walk, but a double play ended the inning before the Billikens could score again. The Billikens held their lead and won the game, 6-4.
The final game of the series in the Bronx went well for the Billikens. From the start, the Billikens were swinging, with Bennett starting the game with a single to left field. His stay on base was short, however, as he was picked off shortly thereafter trying to steal second.
This was followed with another single, this time from Pinnell, but Fordham was able to close the game before the Billikens could capitalize on their hits. The starting pitcher for the Billikens, Dave Sever, was given a run for his money by a stiff Fordham offense, but he stood firm and was able to hold Fordham scoreless. Meanwhile, the Billikens loaded the bases in the fifth with singles from Bennett and Pinnell, and a walk, but a stiff Fordham defense ended the inning before the Billikens could make anything of it. Finally, in the sixth inning, Greg Rodgers broke the stalemate with a home run in the top of the sixth. Crespi followed with a single, and scored later on a double from Rodrigue. The score remained the same from here, and the Billikens took the series with a 2-0 win.
The Billikens’ final game this week was against SIU in the Hoosier Bat Wood Bat Classic. For the first six innings, the contest was very much a pitchers’ duel. In the first, the Billikens had runners on first and third, but a tenacious SIU defense ended the inning before anyone could go home.
Again, in the bottom of the third, Pinnell and Rodgers drew walks, and Moore shot one to right field, but all three runners were stranded, foiled by SIU’s defense. In the fourth inning, the Billikens kept the streak going, as Bratcher stroked a double to lead off the inning. He moved to third on a ground out from Rodrigue, but two pop flies later, the Billikens were still scoreless. The rut that both teams were in ended in the seventh inning, when SIU plated three runs off errors by SLU. Again, in the eighth, errors hurt the Billikens, and the Salukis plated four more runs. Unable to muster any offense, the Billikens lost 7-0.
For his performance in the Fordham series, Sever was named the A-10 Pitcher of the Week. The Billikens take on Temple this Friday at the Billiken Sports Center.
