MERION STATION, Pa. – The Saint Joseph's baseball team opened its weekend series at Smithson Field against Saint Louis on Friday, falling to the Billikens by a 10-2 score.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Saint Joseph's (10-16 overall, 1-3 Atlantic 10) got on the board in the bottom of the first.  Ryan Weingartner ripped a one-out single before moving up to third on a single by Ryan Cesarini.  Owen Petrich followed with a sacrifice fly to bring home Weingartner and give the Hawks the lead.
 
• Saint Louis (21-6 overall, 4-0 Atlantic 10) went ahead in the second on a double by Easton Richter and a single by Ethan Sitzman.
 
• Patrick Clohisy led off the fifth with a solo home run before a Cole Smith single in the seventh pushed the Billiken lead to 4-1.
 
• The Hawks took advantage of a fielding mistake in the bottom of the frame, as an errant throw on a Weingartner ground ball allowed Max Hitman to score and make it a two-run game.
 
• The visitors would put the game out of reach in the ninth, putting six on board.
 
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
• Jackson Holmes allowed a run on five hits in six innings to improve to 6-1, while Ethan Bell tossed two and two-thirds shutout innings to earn his fourth save.  Will McCausland allowed three runs on nine hits while striking out six in six innings to take the loss.
 
• Weingartner had a multi-hit day for the Hawks, going 2-for-5 with a pair of singles and a run scored.
 
UP NEXT
The teams will play the middle game of the set on Saturday afternoon.