RICHMOND, Va. – An offensive explosion unlike any in Saint Joseph's baseball history helped lead the Hawks past Richmond, 19-13, in the conference opener for both teams at Pitt Field on Friday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Saint Joseph's (9-12 overall, 1-0 Atlantic 10) started the home run derby in the top of the second as Ryan Picollo hit a titanic shot to center field that was measured at 468 feet for an early 3-0 lead.

• Ryan Cesarini followed with a solo shot in the third before Ryan Weingartner got in on the act with a solo homer of his own in the fourth.

• The Spiders plated a pair in the bottom of the fourth, but in the fifth, an RBI single by Cesarini was followed soon by a grand slam from Weingartner to push the Hawk lead to 10-2.

• Richmond (11-15 overall, 0-1 Atlantic 10) cut the deficit to five in the bottom of the frame, but the Hawks responded via the longball once again.  Luca Trigiani started the procession with a two-run shot before Brett Callahan immediately followed with a solo home run to restore the eight-run margin.  Two batters later, Nate Thomas went deep to make it a 14-5 game.

• After Jordan Jaffe hit the first home run of the day for the hosts in the bottom of the sixth, the Hawks got three more in the seventh via relative smallball; this time, it was a two-run triple by Luke Zimmerman and an RBI groundout by Trigiani that extended the lead to 17-6.

• The Spiders began to rally in the seventh, scoring on a bases-loaded walk, before a six-run eighth, featuring the ninth home run of the game, whittled the Hawk lead down to four at 17-13.

• In the ninth, Callahan spiked the home run total into double digits with his second of the game, a two-run shot, to set the final margin.

BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
• The eight home runs broke the program record for home runs in a single game; the previous high mark was the six longballs hit in the season opener at Towson in 2021.  It also matches the highest single-game total in Division I this season.

• Callahan finished the game 4-for-6 with two home runs, a double, three runs scored, and three driven in.  Weingartner was 3-for-6 with five RBI and three runs scored, while Picollo and Trigiani both drove in three runs and scored two.

• Every batter in the SJU starting lineup recorded at least one hit and one run scored on the day.

• Will McCausland earned the win on the mound, allowing five runs on five hits in five innings.  Brenden Argomaniz took the loss, allowing the same five runs on five hits in four innings.

UP NEXT
The second of three between the Hawks and Spiders is set for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday; the game will be streamed on ESPN3, which is accessible through an over-the-air cable subscription.