MERION STATION, Pa. –
Frank Ciccone pitched into the ninth inning on Friday and turned in a career-best outing as the Saint Joseph's baseball team topped Richmond, 5-3, at Smithson Field.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Ciccone and Richmond's Esteban Rodriguez traded zeroes early on, but the Hawks scratched out a run in the bottom of the third for a 1-0 lead.
Joey Gale led off the inning with a walk, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by
Alex Kelsey, and moved to third on a single by
Tim Dickinson.
Carson Applegate then beat out the relay throw on a double play attempt that allowed Gale to cross the plate with the game's first run.
• Richmond (19-3 overall, 3-1 Atlantic 10) drew level in the sixth, scoring on a two-out single by Jordan Jaffe.
• Saint Joseph's (7-13 overall, 2-2 Atlantic 10) responded in the bottom of the inning.
Joey Pagano led off with a walk and
Aidan Duda singled; a fielder's choice and a fly out left runners at first and second with two outs for Gale, who ripped a double to right to score two and put the Hawks back in front.
• Kelsey then extended the inning, reaching on an error, before Dickinson was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Applegate; he then laced a single that scored Gale and Kelsey to push the lead to 5-1.
• Those insurance runs would prove vital in the ninth. Ciccone had retired seven in a row at that point, including striking out the side in the eighth, but an Aaron Whitley double and a walk to Jaffe to start the inning led to Ciccone's exit to a standing ovation from the Hawk faithful.
Sam Greer came on in relief, but a fielding error and a walk led to a run scoring for the Spiders.
•
Luke Parise then came in from the bullpen and induced a ground ball fielder's choice that scored another run to cut the margin to two, but he followed up with a big strikeout and a groundout to end the game and secure the victory.
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
• Ciccone was immense for the Hawks on Friday, working eight-plus innings and allowing two earned runs on four hits while striking out a career-high 11 batters. Parise was strong out of the bullpen, earning his first save in an inning of work.
• Rodriguez allowed a run on three hits while walking three and striking out six in four innings. Ryan Bilka took the loss for the Spiders after he allowed four runs, two of them earned, on five hits in four innings.
• Applegate collected three runs batted in for the Hawks, while Kelsey was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and Gale was 1-for-3 with a walk, two RBI, and two runs scored.
• The Hawks ended the Spiders' 12-game winning streak on Friday afternoon.
UP NEXT
The teams are set for a 2:00 first pitch on Saturday at Smithson Field.
