May 13, 2006
Box Score
ST. LOUIS - A three-run home run in the top of the fourth inning provided all the cushion Rhode Island needed in a 6-1 victory over Saint Louis in Atlantic 10 baseball tonight at The Billiken Sports Center. The Billikens (26-22, 13-9 A-10) got four hits from junior Bill Musselman, who drove in the only SLU run, but could not recover from the decisive three-run shot from Josh Nestor. The Rams (30-11, 15-6 A-10) out-hit the Billikens just 12-8 in the outing, but URI ace Steve Holmes did not allow an extra-base hit in the outing.
After SLU starter Ryan Bird struck out two of three hitters in the second inning, the Rams plated the game's first run in the top of the third. Mike O'Malley led off with a single and moved to third when Dave Savard's shot to right center bounced past a diving Ryan Crespi for a double. Daryl Holcomb plated the run with a ground out, and Bird forced the Rams to leave Savard stranded on third.
A leadoff walk opened the top of the fourth for URI, and Shaun Hagey followed with a single through the left side. A fly ball to right left runners on the corners with one out. After falling behind in the count, Nestor punched his home run over the wall in left for a 4-0 URI lead. The Rams looked for more when O'Malley roped another single through the right side, but Musselman threw him out trying to steal second to end the inning.
The Billikens got things going in the bottom of the fourth when Johnny Sweeney stuck a one-out single into right field. Holmes walked Greg Rodgers to push Sweeney to second, and Musselman cut the lead to 4-1 with a singe to center. Holmes limited the damage with a ground ball off the bat of Gilbert Marlowe and strikeout to end the inning.
Bird gave up a single and a pair of walks in the fifth, but again got help from Musselman gunning down Holcomb looking to swipe second base. A pair of strikeouts in the sixth helped the Billikens stay within striking distance as well. Rodgers and Musselman posted back-to-back singles in the bottom of the sixth, only to see the rally end with a double-play ball.
Wayne Russo led off the seventh with a shot down the left field line and pulled into second just ahead of the throw from Sweeney. Scott Brown's single through the right side moved him to third, and Ryan Cunningham picked up the RBI on a foul out down the right field line. The Billikens turned to Etienne Ratte-Delorme out of the bullpen to close out the inning, which he did by forcing the Rams to leave the bases loaded. URI tacked on an unearned run in the eighth after Savard reached on an error.
SLU looked for a rally in the ninth against reliever Jamie Degidio. Musselman led off the inning with his fourth-straight single, and Rodgers drew a walk to put two on for the bottom of the order. The sophomore right-hander rolled through the next three hitters to seal the victory for Rhode Island.
Holmes improved to 9-1 on the season as he yielded just one run on seven hits and struck out seven in eight innings. With the loss, Bird fell to 6-5 for the year, as he gave up five runs on nine hits and fanned five. Musselman's four hits were a game high, and Nestor's three RBI topped both teams as well.
The two teams continue their three-game series tomorrow afternoon with a 1 p.m. start at The Billiken Sports Center.
