The eighth inning did not go according to plan for the Saint Louis University baseball team in their loss to North Dakota yesterday in at SLU.

“When you have all the momentum on your side and then give up one big inning, it definitely hurts,” pitcher Scott Turmail said.

That one big inning Turmail was referring to was the top of the eighth. In the previous frame, the Billikens scored three to take a 8-6 lead, their first of the game.

It all fell apart in the top of the eighth, when North Dakota plated 7 runs and didn’t look back.

“It kind of hurts because you come all the way back, you think you’ve got it. But that’s how baseball works. It’s a streaky game,” freshman Jerry Mancuso said. “It’s hard to constantly put yourself in a hole and come back. Nothing in baseball is consistent.”

The Billikens managed a healthy 13 hits against North Dakota and four players had multiple hits. But defense was their undoing according to Mancuso. Three Billiken errors during the game, contributing to 4 unearned runs for North Dakota, were crucial in the loss.

“Maybe a few hops just don’t go our way,” Mancuso said.

This debacle came at the end of a winning series for the Billikens, who after taking two out of three games from North Dakota stand at 11-7.

Atlantic 10 play is next on the schedule for the Billikens, as they prepare to travel to Cincinnati for a series against rivals Xavier.

“At the same time, we have a big week ahead of us so you have to put it behind you,” Turmail said. “You find out who you are as a team. This weekend is when it really starts to matter. Conference play is just so much more important than anything else in the season.”