University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Bryant
Barber's RBI Double In Eighth Lifts Richmond Past Bryant, 7-6
03/10/2009 | Baseball
March 10, 2009
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND - Sophomore DH Billy Barber ripped an RBI double down the left field line in the eighth inning to break a 6-6 tie, lifting the Richmond baseball team past Bryant, 7-6, Tuesday afternoon at Pitt Field.
Although never trailing in the contest, Richmond (9-1) saw the visitors tie the score on four different occasions. But Barber's double proved to be the difference for the Spiders who snapped Bryant's five-game win streak.
The Bulldogs (5-3), who are playing their first season of Division-I baseball after a sustained run as a D-II powerhouse, were coming off a pair of wins over Virginia Tech and Radford on Monday.
Senior reliever Josh Horn put himself in line for the victory by pitching a scoreless eighth inning, followed by a scoreless ninth from senior closer Brian Alas for his fourth save of the season. Horn owns a 1.64 ERA in six appearances and improved to 3-0.
Junior C Evan Stehle was two-for-three with an RBI, a run scored and two walks, while freshman SS Adam McConnell had a hit and swiped two bases in three attempts to snap his consecutive stolen-bases streak at 10. Richmond racked up six more steals for a conference-leading 33 in 2009.
Junior 3B Cameron Brown, who was one-for-three and scored twice, has had at least a hit in every game this season. Brown's .512 batting average this season leads the Atlantic 10.
Richmond opened a lead as big as 5-2 in the fourth, but junior starting pitcher Matt Zielinski saw two unearned runs come across in the fifth. Two Richmond errors set the stage for a pair of sacrifice flies later in the frame and the visitors had pulled within one.
Zielinski fanned five in five innings of work, but watched his one-run lead slip away from dugout as junior Jared Bard - making his first appearance of the season - gave up an RBI single to Dylan Stone in the sixth.
Stehle's RBI single to left in the bottom of the sixth gave Bard the lead again, only to see Jeff Vigurs blast a solo homer over the left field wall in the seventh for the game's fourth tie.
A single by Ryan Metzroth off reliever Mark Andrews (0-2) got the eighth inning started and, after Mike Mergenthaler popped a sacrifice bunt back to the pitcher, Metzroth took second on a throwing error. Barber's double down the line followed and the Spiders reclaimed the lead for the fifth and final time.
Alas, pitching for the third-straight day, worked himself around an error in the ninth and fanned Pat O'Connor and Jamie Skagerlind for the final two outs. The senior picked up his fourth save of the season and the 22nd of his career to extend the school record he established Monday.
Richmond and Bryant continue their three-game series Wednesday at Pitt Field at 2 p.m.
