April 30, 2010
Box Score
BRONX, NY - Eric Van Wyk allowed just one hit over seven-plus innings and Pat Christensen closed the door to lead La Salle Baseball to a 6-2 victory over the host Fordham Rams in Atlantic 10 action Friday night at Houlihan Park. Jon Gyles drove in a pair while Brian Meagher sealed the win with a two-run ninth-inning home run.
The only hit Van Wyk surrendered was a two-out double in the fourth inning, but he did walk five batters and allowed one earned, but struck out four and won his team-leading fourth game. He is 4-1 this season in six starts, all in conference action, and overall, La Salle is 5-1 in those contests.
Christensen threw the final two innings to pick up his eighth save of 2010, which is now just one shy of the all-time single-season record at La Salle. Gerard Breslin saved nine games in both the 2005 and 2007 seasons. Christensen allowed three hits, one run and struck out three.
The Explorers opened the game with a single run in the top of the first as Brendan Norton hit a two-out single to left. He swiped bag (later in the game he stole another to push his season total to a team-leading 14) and then scored when Gyles doubled down the left-field line.
Gyles went 3-for-5 in the game, his 16th multi-hit game of the year, which is second on the team, while his eight three-plus hit games leads the squad. He had two doubles in the contest, marking 15 now for the season, fifth all-time in a single season.
After Van Wyk retired the first six batters he faced, his teammates gave him two more runs in the top of the third, all the run support the pitchers would need.
John Malloy drew a lead-off walk and Norton also walked with one gone. Gyles then knocked in his second run of the game, the 40th of the season, with a single through the right side. He is now one RBI shy of the top 10 list for RBI in a season.
Jeff Flax followed with a ground out to second, plating Norton with his 40th run of 2010 and put the Explorers up 3-0.
Fordham (14-28, 8-8 A-10) plated its only run off Van Wyk in the bottom of the frame without a hit. Nick Martinez and Mike Mobbs drew back-to-back walks and moved into scoring position on Ryan Maghini's sacrifice bunt. Martinez scored on a Ryan Lee ground out and Van Wyk ended the frame with a pop out.
With two outs in the bottom of the fourth, the Rams Angelo Ponte was hit by a pitch before Brian Kownakci notched the only hit off Van Wyk - a double to right center putting runners on second and third. However, Van Wyk ended the threat by striking out Martinez.
La Salle (15-24, 9-7 A-10) tacked on another run in the sixth, again with a two-out rally. Marc Schoch walked, Kevin Jones and Tony Negrin singled, and Malloy drove Schoch in with another single to right.
Van Wyk took the 4-1 lead into the eighth, but after walking the lead-off batter, Christensen was brought in from the pen. He struck out the first batter he faced, allowed a pinch-hit single to center by Stephen McSherry, but got another strike out and a pop out to end the inning.
Meagher all but sealed the La Salle victory when he launched a 3-1 pitch over the left-field fence for his team-leading fifth home run of the year, plating Negrin, and pushing the Explorer lead to 6-1. Gyles and Meagher each registered their seventh game this season with at least two RBI, one behind team-leader Malloy.
The Rams pushed a harmless run across in the bottom of the ninth before Christensen ended the game on a ground out to Meagher.
The two teams will again face off on Saturday at 4 PM, a game that can be viewed and heard live courtesy of Fordham athletics.
