The Saint Joseph's baseball team fell in the opener of its weekend series, dropping an 18-6 result to Davidson on Friday afternoon at Smithson Field.
Davidson (21-12 overall, 7-3 Atlantic 10) took the early lead in the top half of the second as Alex Mardiney and Brett Centracchio each hit two-run home runs to make it a 4-0 game. The Wildcats then added three in the third on doubles by Mardiney and Bazin.
Saint Joseph's (13-15 overall, 3-5 Atlantic 10) got on the board in the home half of the third as three consecutive singles by Matt Cuppari, Brendan Hueth, and Matt Maul led to RBI groundouts from Jake Artz and Charlie Concannon to cut the deficit to 7-2.
The Wildcats responded in a big way in the fourth, however, sending 13 batters to the plate and pushing 10 across to extend the lead to 17-2.
The Hawks added a couple longballs of their own in the fourth and fifth, as Kadar Namey and then Concannon hit solo shots to cut the lead to 17-4.
Langston Livingston added his first career home run, a two-run shot in the bottom of the eighth, before the Wildcats tacked one on in the ninth to set the final margin.
Allen Barry earned the win for Davidson to improve to 6-1 on the season, while Matt Kennedy took the loss to fall to 1-2.
The teams will return to Smithson Field on Saturday for a doubleheader to wrap up the series beginning at noon. Saturday is also Alumni and Family Day on Hawk Hill.
