WILMINGTON, N.C. – The Saint Joseph's baseball team scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning but could not complete the comeback, falling to UNC Wilmington, 6-5, at Brooks Field on Friday night.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
• Neither team was able to scratch out a run until the top of the fifth. With two on and one out,
Brandon Drapeau singled through the infield to score
Owen Petrich and give the Hawks the lead.
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• Two batters later,
Max Hitman doubled the advantage with a single of his own, scoring
Jakob Reed to make it a 2-0 game.
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• UNC Wilmington (7-6) drew level in the bottom of the sixth on a two-run home run by Tanner Thach.
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• Thach struck again with another two-run shot in the eighth to put the Seahawks on top, 4-2; the hosts would add two more in the inning to take a 6-2 lead into the ninth.
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• Saint Joseph's (5-6) would stage a valiant two-out rally. Reed started things off with a double before a walk to Drapeau and a single by
Tim Dickinson loaded the bases for pinch hitter
Justin Igoe, who drew a walk of his own to make it a 6-3 game.
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• After a pitching change,
Conlan Wall worked a free pass to score another run before Dickinson came in on a wild pitch to leave the tying run 90 feet away and the go-ahead run on second base. Unfortunately for the Hawks, UNCW's Luke Craig recorded the final out to notch the save.
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BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
• Craig saved the win for Connor Marshburn, who allowed three runs in an inning and two-thirds.Â
Luke Gabrysh took the loss for SJU.
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• Neither starter figured into the decision despite strong efforts.Â
Will McCausland was outstanding for the Hawks, allowing two runs on eight hits while striking out 10 and not walking a batter in six innings. RJ Sales allowed two runs on two hits in seven innings for the Seahawks.
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• The bottom half of the Hawk order provided the offense on Friday, with four different players recording hits. Reed scored twice, while Wall drew three more walks to move to the top of the Atlantic 10 with 16 on the season.
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UP NEXT
The second game of the weekend series is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.
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