May 13, 2007

Box Score

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Charlotte broke open a 3-3 game in the seventh inning and went on to a 10-4 win over St. Bonaventure in the deciding game of the teams' three-game Atlantic 10 Conference series Sunday at Hayes Stadium.

St. Bonaventure dropped to 12-11 in the Atlantic 10 and 22-23 overall. Despite losing their last two, the Bonnies remain in sixth place in the A-10 standings. Charlotte, which is ranked 23rd in the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's top 25 poll, improved to a conference-best 20-4 and 40-10 overall.

The 49ers opened a 3-0 lead with one run in the second inning and two more in the third against Bonnies' starter Cody Vincent. Brad McElroy plated both Charlotte runs in the third frame with a double.

A pair of home run balls enabled the Bonnies to tie the game at 3-3 in the fourth. After Kevin Suminski led off with a single, junior designated hitter Josh Sova took Zach Rosenbaum's 0-1 pitch over the right field wall for his third home run of the season. One batter later, senior left fielder Joe Rizzo lifted a solo homer to knot the score.

The score remained tied until the bottom of the seventh when Kris Rochelle smacked an RBI double to give Charlotte a 4-3 lead. In the eighth, the 49ers scored six runs on six hits against St. Bonaventure relief pitchers Ryan Kerr and Josh Perkins.

St. Bonaventure's only other run came in the ninth, when Rizzo singled and later scored on a passed ball.

Vincent (4-7) took the loss despite only allowing five hits over 6-2/3 innings. He did walk five batters.

Rizzo finished 2-3 with two runs scored to lead the Bonnies' offense, which totaled seven hits against three 49er pitchers.

The Bonnies have one Atlantic 10 series remaining, May 17-19 at home against Temple.