BRONX, N.Y. – A five-run deficit proved too much to overcome as the Saint Joseph's baseball team fell to Davidson, 8-4, in the opening game of the 2016 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship at Houlihan Park on Wednesday.
The Hawks will play the loser of the Rhode Island-Fordham game on Thursday evening at 8:30 p.m.
Davidson (26-24) took an early lead with two outs in the second as Alec Acosta singled and scored on a double to right by Eric Jones.
The Wildcats added two more in the fourth as Lee Miller led off the frame with his fifth home run of the season and Max Bazin singled home Will Robertson with two away.
Bazin drove in another run in the top of the sixth with a groundout before Jake Sidwell singled in one more to chase starter Lucas Rollins and make it a 5-0 game.
Saint Joseph's (29-22) broke through for a pair in the sixth. Marc Giacalone led off with a walk before coming in to score two batters later on a one-out double by John Brue. Charlie Coghlin followed with a single to score Brue and make it 5-2.
The Hawks tacked on two more in the seventh as Taylor Boyd walked before consecutive singles by Giacalone and Deon Stafford, Jr., made it a 5-3 game. Brue then walked to load the bases for Coghlin, who lofted a fly ball that dropped in fair territory down the right field line. Giacalone came in on the play to cut the deficit to one.
Davidson plated three insurance runs in the top of the ninth, stringing together three consecutive two-out hits to extend the advantage to 8-4.
In the last of the ninth, Stafford led off with a single and advanced to third after Coghlin hit into a fielder's choice and Acosta threw the ball away, but pinch runner Peter Sitaras was caught stealing before Westin Whitmire retired Charlie Concannon for the final out.
Rollins went five and two-thirds innings, allowing five runs on 11 hits, to fall to 5-5 on the season. Durin O'Linger earned the win for the Wildcats, improving to 7-4 after allowing four runs on six hits and four walks in six and a third innings. Whitmire recorded the final five outs for his eighth save of the season.
If VCU defeats George Washington, the Hawks will return to Houlihan Park for an 8:30 p.m. game on Thursday night against either Rhode Island, Saint Louis, or Fordham. Should George Washington emerge victorious, the Hawks will face the loser of today's Saint Louis-Fordham matchup at 8:30 tonight.
