MERION STATION, Pa. – A late-game comeback effort fell short for the Saint Joseph's baseball team on Saturday afternoon as the Hawks dropped the second of a three-game set to Saint Louis, 7-3, at Smithson Field.
Saint Joseph's (8-10 overall, 0-2 Atlantic 10) took the lead in the first inning, as Marc Giacalone led off with a walk, went to third on a single by Matt Maul, and then came in to score on a sacrifice fly by Charlie Concannon.
Saint Louis (14-7 overall, 2-0 Atlantic 10) answered immediately, scoring a pair on a single by Cole Dubet.
Both starting pitchers – Matt Kennedy for SJU and Jackson Wark for SLU – settled in, with each retiring seven consecutive batters after allowing their respective runs to score. Maul snapped Wark's streak with a leadoff single in the fourth, but was stranded at second base to keep the score at 2-1. Then after Kennedy issued a leadoff walk in the top of the fifth, Ryan Devine came on to retire the side and keep the Hawks within a run.
The Billikens eventually extended the lead in the top of the eighth as Aaron Case led off with a triple and scored on a wild pitch before Alex King homered to make it 4-1.
The Hawks got both runs back in the bottom of the inning. After two quick outs, SLU's Luke Sommerfeld ran into trouble as Giacalone beat out an infield single and went all the way around to third on a throwing error. Maul then reached on an error that brought home Giacalone to make it a 4-2 game.
Concannon then drew a walk before a passed ball moved the runners up to second and third for James McConnon. McConnon worked a free pass of his own; on ball four, a second passed ball allowed Maul to score and cut the Hawk deficit to one.
Unfortunately for the Crimson and Gray, a double by James Morisano and a home run by Dubet restored the three-run lead before Case walked, stole second, and scored on an error to add an insurance run.
Wark earned the win for the Billikens, allowing one run on two hits and two walks while striking out three in six innings. Kennedy took the loss, ceding two runs on just the one hit, but walking three. Devine was strong in relief, allowing just one hit and one walk in three innings.
Ryan Lefner earned his fifth save of the season after retiring all four batters he faced.
The Hawks and Billikens will close out the series on Sunday at noon.
