Posted by: Marc Mullen
Dennis Burge scored two runs and drove in a third. |
Bill Kern went hitless ending his 14-game hitting streak, but drove in a run with a sac fly. |
Dan Waters has struck out at least seven batters in six of his 12 starts in 2006. |
PHILADELPHIA, PA - Leading for most of the day, the La Salle University Baseball team was defeated Saturday afternoon at Hank DeVincent Field when Richmond's Ben Zeskind hit a two-out three-run home run in the ninth inning to lift the Spiders to a 6-5 victory over the Explorers in Atlantic 10 action.
The Explorers, who were leading 5-3 entering the last frame, turned to their closer Gerard Breslin to pitch the ninth. The junior earned a save in Friday's victory and was heading toward his sixth of this season, 21st of his career after striking out two batters sandwiched around a walk to start the inning.
However, Richmond's Victor Croglio extended the inning with a single to deep short and then, facing a 2-2 count, Zeskind belted the pitch over the right field fence to give the Spiders a 6-5 advantage and saddled Breslin with his fifth loss of the season.
The Spiders then turned the ball over to Derek Duclos in for relief of Alex Hale (6-2), who pitched eight innings allowing five runs on seven hits and struck out seven batters. Duclos hit the first batter he faced, Dennis Burge, but ended the inning with a strikeout and double play to get his second save of the year.
Burge, who used his arm to help the Explorers win the first game of the series on Friday, helped the Explorers with his legs and his bat in Saturday's game. He reached base in four of five plate appearances and stole second twice - in the first and third. Each time he also scored, tying the game in the first on a wild pitch, and giving La Salle a 2-1 lead after a sacrifice fly by Bill Kern in the third.
La Salle (15-29, 7-12 A-10) increased its lead to 3-1 with another run in the third, as Rich Prall scored on John Rickards' RBI-single to right field. After the Spiders cut the lead to 3-2, Burge knocked in Julian Holguin with a double in the fourth and Rickards, who was 3-for-4 in the game, hit an inside-the-park home run to deep center field in the fifth to give La Salle a 5-2 advantage.
Dan Waters, who did not factor into the decision, threw seven strong innings, allowed three runs on five hits and struck out seven batters, giving him 76 for the season in 75.0 innings pitched. He is just one shy of the second spot on the single-season list, but 31 away from the all-time leader Will Fleck, who had 107 in 1997.
Richmond (19-27, 10-10 A-10) chased Waters in the top of the eighth after Zeskind doubled to start the inning. A single two batters later by Joe Mahoney off La Salle reliever John Reifsnyder would cut the Spider deficit to 5-3 and one inning later, Zeskind, who finished the day 3-for-5 with three runs and three RBI, would provide the game-winner.
The Explorers will finish their three-game series with Richmond on Sunday at 1 PM, which will be preceded by Senior Day, as La Salle will honor its three departing seniors.
