March 21, 2007
Box Score
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -
St. Bonaventure scored four runs in the first inning and went on to defeat West Virginia 10-6 on Wednesday afternoon at Hawley Field.
Less than 24 hours following the Bonnies 12-1 loss to the Mountaineers on Tuesday, in which St. Bonaventure recorded only five hits in 32 plate appearances, the Brown and White offense came to life with 17 hits and nine RBIs.
Sophomore infielder Kevin Suminski led the Bonnies at the plate, finishing 3-5 on the day with three RBIs. After senior left fielder Joe Rizzo was hit by a pitch to load the bases in the first inning, Suminski put St. Bonaventure on the board with a single down the right field line that scored senior shortstop Josh Perkins from third base.
The Bonnies would go on to score three more runs in the top of the first to lead the Mountaineers 4-0 early in the game.
West Virginia answered with two runs of its own in the bottom half of the first, but Suminski recorded his second and third RBIs of the game on a single to left field that plated Perkins and junior center fielder Randy Moley to expand the Bona lead to 6-2 in the second inning.
Designated hitter Matt Mardeusz blasted a solo homerun in the fifth inning, and senior slugger Brian Pellegrini scored on an error in the sixth to give St. Bonaventure an 8-3 lead.
West Virginia climbed back to 8-6 with two runs in the bottom of the sixth and one in the seventh, but St. Bonaventure notched insurance runs in the next two innings to close out the 10-6 victory.
In addition to Suminski, the first three batters in the Bonnies lineup enjoyed strong days at the plate. Moley (3-6), Perkins (3-6) and Pellegrini (2-4) combined for eight hits in 16 at bats (.500), and scored five of St. Bonaventure's 10 runs.
Senior right-hander Ryan Kerr (1-0) picked up the win, allowing three runs on four hits through five innings of work. Kerr recorded five strikeouts before handing the ball off to Cody Vincent and Perkins, who combined for five strikeouts of their own and allowed one earned run in the final four innings.
Josh Whitlock (1-3) was charged the loss for West Virginia, which dropped to 10-5 on the season. St. Bonaventure improved to 5-9 on the year.
The Bonnies begin Atlantic 10 Conference play with a three game home-stand against Saint Joseph's. The first game is set for Friday at 3 p.m. at Handler Park.
