April 6, 2007

Box Score

AMBLER, PA - The La Salle University Baseball team scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to turn a tied ballgame into a 7-2 victory over the Saint Louis Billikens at Skip Wilson Field, Friday, in the first of three games with Saint Louis in Atlantic 10 Conference action.

 

TJ Chism led off the deciding frame with a double to right field, followed by a bunt by Justin Handler setting up a first and third with no outs. Brian Meagher then dropped down a squeeze play, which the Billikens went home on. Chism scored and it resulted in first and second still with no outs.

 

Saint Louis starter Ryan Bird got the next out with a K, his ninth of the day, but was then relieved by Mark Zielinski. He got the second out of the inning, but three straight Explorer hits - a Rich Prall double scoring two, a John Rickards RBI triple, and a Davis Hewett RBI single - put La Salle ahead comfortably.

 

La Salle's big inning came just after Explorer starter Dan Waters pitched out of his own possible game-changing jam. After allowing two first inning runs, Waters settled down, retiring 17 of 18 batters heading into the top of the seventh.

 

However, Blake Bratcher and Bill Musselman led off the inning with back-to-back singles - the first hits since the first inning. Waters forced BJ Rodrigue into a pop-up bunt attempt, and then struck out Gilbert Marlowe for his season-high 10th K of the afternoon. Ziggy Moore flew out to center ending the inning and Waters' day after pitching a season-high seven innings.

 

Dennis Burge pitched the final two innings - a perfect eighth - then got the first two outs of the ninth. An error and a single put runners at first and second, but Marlowe popped up to Rickards to end the game. Waters improved his record to 3-3, while Bird dropped to 0-3.

 

Rickards, who might be questioning his decision to come to La Salle as opposed to Temple, continued his hot hitting at Skip Wilson Field. In last year's final three-game series here, Rickards went 9-for-12 with three triples, three home runs, six runs scored and five RBI. Today, he went 4-for-4 with three doubles, a triple and three RBI. The triple was his eighth of his career, tying him for seventh on the all-time list.

 

After Saint Louis (5-26, 1-6 A-10) scored its only runs of the game in the top of the first - a Casey Moore RBI double, followed by a Greg Rodgers RBI single - Rickards would tie the game with a  pair of RBI doubles.

 

In the first, he drove in John Malloy - who singled to extend his hitting streak to 24 games - with La Salle's first run of the game, then plated Prall, who had also doubled, to tie the game at 2-all in the fourth.

 

La Salle (10-14, 3-4 A-10) and the Billikens - in a schedule change - will now play a doubleheader Saturday at Skip Wilson Field starting at 12 PM.