University of Richmond
Xavier
Bard's Gem Leads Richmond Past Xavier, 9-2, On Getaway Day
04/06/2008 | Baseball
April 6, 2008
CINCINNATI, Ohio - Sophomore Jared Bard tossed a three-hit gem over seven innings, leading the Richmond baseball team past Xavier, 9-2, Sunday afternoon in Cincinnati. Senior Austin Reilly homered for the second time in as many days and finished with three RBI, while Bard allowed two unearned runs in the first and made quick work of the Musketeers after that.
The victory helped the visitors avoid the series sweep at Hayden Field and improved the Spiders to 13-17-1 overall and 5-4 in the Atlantic 10. Xavier slipped to 11-15, 6-3.
Reilly, who hadn't homered in 166 career games, hit a solo shot in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader and launched a two-run shot to right-center field - part of the four-run second inning - as the Spiders captured the lead for good.
In the midst of a career season, Reilly finished the day two-for-four with three RBI and is batting .287 with four doubles, four stolen bases and 13 RBI this season. The senior captain drove in a career-best 17 runs as a freshman.
Reilly's production triggered a prolific day for the Spiders' bottom of the order, with the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth hitters (Mike Mergenthaler, Hank Coogan, Derek Boliek and Reilly) collecting seven of the 10 hits and driving in all nine runs. Mergenthaler had two hits and two runs, Coogan had two hits, two RBI and two runs while Boliek had a hit with three RBI.
Bard set down the first two Musketeers down looking Sunday, but an infield error kept the inning alive and Xavier capitalized when Jordan Conley dropped a two-RBI single down the left field line to seize a 2-0 lead.
But that would be the lone hit allowed by Bard until the fifth, as he set XU down in order in the second and third and rolled three consecutive ground outs after plunking the lead off batter in the fourth.
The sophomore transfer from North Carolina faced just three batters over the minimum following the fist inning and improved to 2-4 with his first career victory in A-10 play. Senior Alex Hale finished off Xavier with one hit and two strikeouts over the final two innings.
Richmond struck for four in the second, then a two-RBI double by Boliek with two outs in third ended the day of XU starter Danny Rosenbaum. The Spiders tagged Rosenbaum for all nine earned runs on eight hits to drop his record to 1-3. Mike Creevey fanned six and scatted two hits over the final 6.1 innings.
The win snapped a four-game skid for the Spiders, who continue on the road next week with four games. Richmond is at George Mason Wednesday at 3 p.m. then in Philadelphia for a three-game series versus Temple beginning Friday.
