March 10, 2009

Box Score

ELON, NC - It was again a seven-run inning that doomed La Salle University Baseball Tuesday night at Latham Park. After the Explorers battled back from a five-run deficit to knot the game at 7-all, Elon plated seven in the seventh and went on to beat La Salle, 16-9.

Home runs were plentiful in the contest with the Phoenix hitting five which scored 10 of their runs, while La Salle hit three, scoring five.

Dennis Burge led the Explorers with three RBI, while Justin Handler and Jeff Flax each knocked in a pair. Handler, Flax, Marc Schoch, Jon Gyles, and Brian Meagher each had two hits for La Salle, while Flax also scored a pair of runs.

The Explorers cut a five-run deficit to one in the top of the fifth inning on a Flax solo home run and a Burge three-run shot. After Elon responded with two in the bottom of the frame, La Salle tied it at seven with three in the sixth.

Flax singled home Schoch, Zack Feierstein knocked in Gyles, and when Handler hit a sac fly to left - scoring Flax - the Explorers came all the way back to tie it at 7-all.

Cody Weiss pitched a perfect bottom of the sixth, however, ran into trouble in the seventh. He gave up a two-run home run to Justin Hilt and a three-run home run to Mike Melillo as Elon put seven on the board in the frame.

The Phoenix (7-4) tacked on two more runs in the eighth inning, before TJ Chism hit a solo home run, his fourth of the season, to lead off the ninth to provide the final run.

Jimmy Reyes (2-0) picked up the win after throwing just 1.1 innings - the only pitcher of the nine that saw action to throw at least an inning and not allow a run - while Weiss (1-2) suffered the loss.

La Salle (4-5) is off on Wednesday, but returns to action on Thursday with one game at Maryland-Eastern Shore starting at 3 PM.