May 18, 2013
Box Score
MERION STATION, Pa. - The Saint Joseph's baseball team fell into an early hole on Saturday afternoon and ultimately came up short, falling to Rhode Island, 10-5, in the season finale at Smithson Field.
Despite the loss, Saint Joseph's (26-26 overall, 12-12 Atlantic 10) finished the season with a winning percentage of .500 or better for the first time since 1993 and for just the second time in 30 years. The Hawks also saw their win percentage increase for the fifth consecutive season.
Rhode Island (34-22 overall, 17-7 Atlantic 10) scored three times in the first, plating a run on a single by Mike LeBel and two runs on a double by Shane O'Connell. The Rams then added two more in the second on a double by Tim Caputo to push the lead to 5-0.
The Hawks scratched out a run in the third when Collin Forgey beat out a two-out infield single, stole second, and scored on a double by Stefan Kancylarz.
URI got the run back in the fourth when Jesse Lee scored on an error to make it a 6-1 game. The Rams then extended the lead to nine with a four-spot in the sixth.
Saint Joseph's tallied three in the seventh on just one hit to cut the deficit to six. Greg Kumpel, Anthony Cirillo, and Quinn Renner loaded the bases with three consecutive walks. Kevin Kratochwill hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Kumpel before a throwing error allowed Cirillo to score and Renner to go to third. Forgey then followed with an RBI groundout to make it a 10-4 game.
Chris Hueth notched his 100th career hit, a double to lead off the eighth, before coming in on a wild pitch to cut the URI lead to five. In the ninth, Kratochwill singled for his 100th career hit, but with two out, Mike Muha hit a home run ball to left that Lee reached over the fence and brought back to end the ballgame.
Jordan Carter took the loss for Saint Joseph's, finishing the season at 3-5. Tyler Bowditch allowed one run in five innings to earn the win and improve to 2-0 for Rhode Island.
The loss, coupled with results from around the league this week, eliminated Saint Joseph's from contention for a spot in the Atlantic 10 Championship.
Hueth and Kratochwill are the 62nd and 63rd Hawks, respectively, to reach the 100-hit mark for their careers, and the fifth and sixth to do it this season.
As a team, the Hawks set a school record for wins in a season in 2013, eclipsing the mark set in 1995 and matched in 2012. In addition, the Hawks extended their run of consecutive seasons with 11 or more conference wins to four; SJU had only posted one such season prior to 2010.
Prior to the game, Saint Joseph's honored the seven members of the senior class for their four years of hard work and dedication to the baseball program. Cirillo, Kumpel, Renner, Kevin Burum, Shane Carey, Kyle Mullen, and Eddie Palmer depart with the most wins as a class in school history, as the Hawks won 90 games during their careers.
