University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Brown
Brown Pulls Away To Snap Richmond Winning Streak
03/26/2008 | Baseball
March 26, 2008
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The Richmond baseball team allowed Brown to take an early 5-0 lead and the visitors held on for a 16-7 victory at Pitt Field Wednesday afternoon. The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for the Spiders, who remain home this weekend to host George Washington in an Atlantic 10 series. Sophomore Evan Stehle launched a three-run homer for the Spiders as they rallied to pull with in two in the fifth inning.
Senior Hank Coogan extended his hitting streak to 15 games, with a three-for-five performance, while freshman Mike Mergenthaler stretched his hitting streak to 14. Coogan, who entered the game ranked ninth in the NCAA with 39 hit, is leading the Spiders with a .420 average.
After the Bears opened up a 7-0 lead heading to the bottom of the fifth, the Spiders pounded out five runs on four hits in the bottom of the frame and thanks to Stehle's third homer of the season, pulled within 7-5.
But any hopes of a Richmond (11-12-1) comeback were dodged when Brown (6-7) poured on nine more runs over the next two innings to get back in the drivers' seat. Nick Punal and Mark Colantonio each collected three of the Bears' 21 hits, while Ryan Zrenda and J.J. Eno combined for seven RBI.
Stehle, Austin Reilly and Joe White each had two hits for Richmond, which collected 12 as a team. Reilly's hitting streak has reach eight, while White has hit safely in seven straight.
Brown, the defending Ivy League champions, dented the scoreboard first in the opening inning as Steve Daniels led the game off with a single, stole second and scored on Ryan Murphy's single in the next at bat.
But shortstop Derek Boliek triggered a pair of timely double plays that allowed starter Anthony Cafagna to escape the first without further damage and sneak out of the second unscathed.
The Bears knocked Cafagna out of the game in the fourth and carved into the Spider bullpen by scoring four runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth to seize a commanding 7-0 advantage.
Cafagna (0-2) was tagged with the loss, giving up four runs and seven hits in 3.0 innings of work. The Spiders spread the balance of the game over seven other pitchers out of the bullpen. Brown Reliever Mark Gormley pitched 1.1 innings behind starter Matt Boylan and was credited with the win.
After sweeping La Salle last weekend in the A-10 opener, the Spiders will entertain George Washington in a three-game set beginning Friday at Pitt Field. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. Saturday's 2 p.m. game and Sunday's 1 p.m. contest can be heard live on ESPN Radio 950 in Richmond.
