University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
*at La Salle
Spiders Fall In Extra Innings At La Salle, 5-2
05/07/2006 | Baseball
May 7, 2006
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Senior Ben Zeskind's homer in the top half of the 10th broke a 1-1 tie, but a grand slam in the bottom half gave La Salle the Atlantic 10 Conference series win Sunday in Philadelphia, Pa., 5-2. The loss drops Richmond to 19-28 overall and 10-11 in the Atlantic 10. The Spiders host Radford Monday, May 8, to continue a string of five games in five days. First pitch against the Highlanders is slated for 4 p.m.
La Salle took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first off senior Jason Bolinski. After a walk and basehit ledoff the inning, George Hudock hit a sac-fly to left to drive in the run.
Bolinski went on to allow just four more hits through his seven innings of work. The Hockessin, Del., native stranded a single runner in each of the second, third and seventh innings. He also retired 12 in a string of 15, including seven-straight from the third to fifth innings, but did not figure in the decision. His final numbers for the day included one run on five hits and two walks, while fanning seven in seven innings.
The Spiders stranded runners in the first and second, but junior Vince Riggi came through to tie the ballgame in the fourth when he singled to center. Freshman Cameron Brown, who had walked and moved to second on a wild pitch earlier in the inning, came around to score.
Richmond got a big defensive stop in the seventh. Bolinski loaded the bases on a double, error and a walk, but got the next hitter to hit into a 6-2-3 triple play. La Salle's Kenny Elkind lined a ball to freshman Victor Croglio at short, who alertly knocked it down without catching it. He quickly fired it home to get the lead runner, before sophomore Hank Coogan threw it on to sophomore Joe Mahoney at first. Mahoney touched the bag for the force and applied a tag to Steve Cook, who failed to move off first on the play.
Richmond could not push anything across from the sixth through the ninth, stranding four. Coogan's first career triple with two outs in the sixth forced La Salle to go to its bullpen, but the Explorers extinguished the rally.
La Salle forced Bolinski out of the game with one out in the eighth, but senior Derek Duclos came on to retire the first six he faced into the 10th to give the Spider bats a chance.
Zeskind took advantage of the opportunity in the 10th when he ledoff the inning with an opposite field homer to left. The dinger marked Zeskind's second go-ahead homer in as many days, after tying and winning Saturday's game with a three-run homerun.
La Salle proceeded to load the bases with one out in the bottom half of the 10th, before the Spiders went to junior Benji Marshall out of the bullpen. The Gaithersburg, Md., native got a line-drive out on the first pitch he threw, but La Salle's Hudock won the game on Marshall's second pitch of the relief appearance. The Explorer leftfielder drove a fastball on the outer-half the opposite way for his sixth homer of the season, which lifted La Salle to a 5-2 win.
Richmond will continue its string of five games in five days Monday when it hosts Radford at Pitt Field. First pitch against the Highlanders is set for 4 p.m.
Game Notes
-- Senior Ben Zeskind's hit .500 for the series against La Salle, going 7-for-14. He drove in four of the Spiders' 10 runs on the weekend, including two go-ahead homeruns in Richmond's final at-bats Saturday and Sunday. The Miami, Fla., native ended the three-game set with a 1.143 slugging percentage after garnering two homers, one double and one triple for a total of 16 total bases.
-- Richmond is now 1-4 in extra-inning contests including a 1-1 mark in A-10 play.
-- The Spiders turned a 6-2-3 triple play in the seventh to get out of a bases-loaded jam.
-- Senior Ben Zeskind's homerun in the top of the 10th was his team-leading eighth of the season. The homer also marked the second time in as many days Zeskind gave the Spiders a come-from-behind lead on a homerun in their last at-bat.
-- Senior Ben Zeskind's recorded two hits in the contest to pull within 12 of the all-time hits record of 308 at Richmond.
-- Sophomore Hank Coogan garnered his first career triple in the sixth inning.
-- Sophomore Joe Mahoney extended his hit streak 12 games with a single in the first inning.
