This year, the Billikens got what they came for at the Atlantic 10 Tournament. After the baseball team had a record-setting 2012 regular season, the squad came up short in last year’s Atlantic 10 tournament, ending the historic season on a disappointing note. This year was different though. The No. 1 seed Billikens (40-19) topped Charlotte 7-4 at Charlotte’s Robert and Mariam Hayes Stadium to secure the A-10 title, their first since 2010.
SLU jumped on the 49ers early, with a three-run third inning that gave them a 3-0 lead. The onslaught was highlighted by senior Alex Kelly’s two-run homerun to left field, which came on the heels of a Grant Nelson RBI single, which drove in freshman Michael Bozarth. Bozarth wasn’t done scoring either, as he knocked a solo homer out of the park, his third of the A-10 tournament.
The Bills got another homerun from Steve Fernandez in the sixth inning, giving the squad their seventh of the tournament. But, Charlotte jumped back into the game in the bottom of the sixth, scoring four runs, all unearned. While the offense shined, the Bills only took a 5-4 lead into the seventh inning. A two-run eighth inning gave closer senior closer Marco Mejia a cushion to work with, and the Bills didn’t look back. Mejia secured his sixth save of the season with two strikeouts in the ninth inning, giving the Billikens the A-10 title.
The win capped off a clutch run for SLU, as they had lost their first game in the A-10 tournament after coming in as the prohibitive favorite. But, the Billikens rebounded in style, winning four in a row. Because of their opening loss, the Billikens had to beat Charlotte two days in a row to capture the title, also beating them 4-3 the previous day. That victory was keyed by a barrage of hits at the plate, as the offense tallied 16 hits, and junior Clay Smith’s eighth victory of the season.
The tournament victory secures SLU an automatic bid in the A-10 tournament, the goal they’ve been eyeing all season. The tournament will begin Friday, and the Bills will eagerly await the announcement of their opponent on Monday at 11 a.m. CDT.
The Atlantic 10 title is SLU’s third, also having won the trophy in 2006 and 2010. They lost to regional hosts on both occassions, California State-Fullerton in 2006 and the University of Louisville in 2010. While the Billikens were a No. 4 seed in their super regional in 2010 with a 33-27 record, they hope this year’s dominating performance of the A-10 will garner a better placement came seeding time.
