NORFOLK, Va. – A furious rally in the closing innings put the go-ahead run on base in the top of the ninth on Sunday, but the Saint Joseph's baseball team ultimately fell to Old Dominion, 13-11, at Bud Metheny Baseball Stadium.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Saint Joseph's (1-6) got on the board in the top of the first on an RBI infield single by Ryan Cesarini.  Conlan Wall would then come in on a throwing error to double the advantage.
 
• Old Dominion (11-1) responded in the bottom of the inning by sending 14 batters to the plate and taking a 10-2 lead.
 
• The Hawks began to chip away at the deficit, putting runners in scoring position in each of the next two innings, before getting back on the board in the fourth.  A single by Brandon Drapeau and a double by Ryan Picollo chased starter Dylan Brown before a wild pitch two batters later scored Drapeau.  Later in the frame, with the bases loaded, Nate Thomas reached on an error that scored Wall and Brett Callahan to make it a 10-5 game.
 
• Callahan would add an RBI single in the fifth to make it a four-run game before the Hawks loaded the bases in the seventh; the Monarchs would escape the jam and tack on a pair in the bottom of the inning to extend their lead to 12-6.
 
• It was the Hawks' turn to bat around in the top of the eighth.  With one out, Ryan Weingartner hit his second home run in as many days before Justin Igoe singled and Drapeau was hit by a pitch.  Two batters later, a single by Colin Myers cut the deficit to 12-8.
 
• Callahan then greeted new ODU pitcher John Holobetz with an RBI single before Wall beat out an infield hit to score another run and make it 12-10.
 
• ODU chalked up a key insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, but the Hawks proceeded to rally with two outs.  Again it was Igoe and Drapeau getting aboard, both with singles, before an RBI single by Picollo.  Myers then drew a walk to load the bases, but Vincent Bashara induced a groundout to end the game with the tying run in scoring position.
 
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
• Bashara earned his first save of the season in preserving the win for Robert Cook, who tossed two and a third innings of shutout relief.  David Owsik took the loss for SJU.
 
• Ryan DeSanto was strong out of the bullpen for the Hawks, tossing four shutout innings and allowing just three baserunners.
 
• Callahan, Cesarini, Drapeau, and Picollo all recorded three hits for the Hawks, while Callahan drove in a pair of runs.
 
• Every batter in the Hawk lineup notched at least one hit as the team pounded out a season-high 19 hits on the day.
 
• The win extended the Monarchs' winning streak to 11 games after a loss on Opening Day.
 
UP NEXT
The Hawks will play 10 of their next 12 at Smithson Field, starting with a three-game weekend homestand against UMass-Lowell.  First pitch in the opener is set for 2:00 p.m. on Friday.