University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
*at Dayton
Errors Plague Spiders In Doubleheader Loss At Dayton
05/20/2005 | Baseball
May 20, 2005
DAYTON, Ohio - Richmond's baseball squad committed five errors in each of its doubleheader games Friday in Dayton falling to the Flyers, 8-0 and 10-8. The two losses dropped the Spiders to 20-33 overall and 12-12 in the conference. The losses also drop Richmond to the sixth-seed in next week's Atlantic 10 Tournament where it will face third-seeded Fordham in the first round.
GAME 1
Richmond's Rob Berzinskas surrendered four runs (three earned) over the first two innings to give the Flyers a 4-0 lead. The Spiders defense booted four total balls in the first two inning which led to the three unearned runs.
Richmond could not get going offensively, failing to get a runner in scoring position until the fourth inning. Junior Andrew Justice reached after getting hit by a pitch, then after a single from freshman Ryan Metzroth and a fielder's choice he moved to third. With the bases loaded and two outs, sophomore Vince Riggi grounded into an inning-ending fielder's choice which stranded Justice and two others.
Berzinskas worked into the fifth and gave up three more runs on three hits to give the Flyers a 7-0 lead. Richmond could not manage anything over its halves of the sixth and seventh, garnering one single in each inning. Dayton, however, added one more in the sixth for the 8-0 win.
Game Notes
- The loss marked the fifth-consecutive when the Spiders wear their red uniform tops.
- Richmond failed to score in a game for the fifth time this season and the first time since getting shutout by Virginia, 11-0, May 3.
- The Spiders' five errors tie a single-game season high, and mark the first time Richmond committed five miscues since its loss at Virginia Tech, May 4.
GAME 2
Richmond came out with more fire in the second game, taking a 2-0 lead in the second when freshman Joe White led off the inning with a single to left. He stole second then moved to third on a strike out by Riggi, before scoring on a sacrifice squeeze bunt from freshman Austin Reilly. Sophomore Anthony Sandstrom, who walked and moved to second on the Reilly bunt, came around to score on a two-out single to center by freshman Alex Hale to make the score 2-0.
Freshman Stephen Owens limited the Flyers to just two hits in the first three innings, but allowed them to get back in the game in the fourth. Dayton strung together three-straight base knocks to plate one run in the inning off Owens.
Richmond went to its bullpen in the fifth and brought in junior Ja Jones. The Flyers welcomed Jones to the game by scoring two runs on three hits in the fifth, taking their first lead 3-2.
The Spiders came back in the seventh and retook the lead, 4-3. After Hale and freshman Joe Mahoney reached to lead off the inning, Justice advanced them on a sac-bunt. Sophomore Matt McKenna then came through with the game-tying single into center field. One batter later, White flew out to left field which allowed Mahoney to score the go-ahead run from third.
Dayton took advantage of a costly error in the bottom of the seventh to go ahead, 6-4. With two outs and a runner at third, Metzroth and Reilly collided in shallow left field on a fly ball allowing it to fall and the tying run to score. Junior Derek Duclo, who came on to begin the seventh, walked the next two to load the bases and give way to Richmond's bullpen and senior John Cronin. The first hitter Cronin faced roped a double down the right field line which drove in the go-ahead run and insurance run.
The Spiders added one in the eighth on an RBI-double by Mahoney, before the Flyers scored four more off Cronin in the eighth to make the score 10-5.
Richmond's first five in the ninth reached base, including an RBI double by Riggi followed by an RBI single from Sandstrom. Freshman Andrew Justice could not come through with the score at 10-8, ending the game, and the regular season, with a pop out to the shortstop.
Next up for the Spiders will be third-seeded Fordham in the Atlantic 10 Conference Championships in Dayton, Ohio. Tournament action will get underway at noon, Wednesday, May 25 at Fifth Third Field in downtown Dayton. The Spiders and Rams will play the second game of the day, scheduled for approximately 3:30 p.m. Bob Black and Simon Gray will call the action from the home of the Dayton Dragons and can be heard at RichmondSpiders.com
Game Notes
- The Spiders have now lost five-straight, their longest losing streak since dropping 10 in a row from April 3-16.
- Richmond wrapped up its conference season with a mark of 12-12, its worst mark since joining the Atlantic 10 Conference. The last time the Spiders finished .500 or less in the league was 2001 when they had a record of 7-13 in the Colonial Athletic Association.
- The Spiders have committed 15 errors in the last four games, the most in any four-game span this season.
