March 21, 2008

Final Stats

BRONX, N.Y. - Senior Randy Moley delivered his ninth straight multi-hit game and for the second day in a row St. Bonaventure received an outstanding pitching performance from its staff as it outlasted Fordham, 3-2, in 12 innings on Friday afternoon at Houlihan Park.

The extra-inning victory is the second of the season from the Brown and White as they improve to 8-5 overall and more importantly 2-0 in the Atlantic 10. The game marked the first extra-inning game for the Rams in 2008 as they fall to 10-7 and 0-2 in the conference.

Head coach Larry Sudbrook's small-ball game plan heading into the series never proved more valuable then in the 12th as Moley led off the inning with his fourth hit of the day, a double to right center. Senior T.J. Pennino moved Moley over into scoring position in the next at-bat with a sacrifice bunt, setting the stage for junior Brandon Salerno. The third-year catcher delivered the game-winning single to right field to score Moley for the 3-2 lead.

St. Bonaventure executed its small-ball attack all day, executing six of its seven sacrifice bunts. Over the first two games, the Brown and White have laid down 12 sac bunts, leading to six of the team's seven runs and several Fordham throwing errors.

Unlike yesterday, both teams had success at the plate evident by their 11 hits apiece, but failed to bring home runners. The Bonnies left 12 runners on the base paths while Fordham stranded nine.

"The difference today was we didn't do a good job of putting the ball in play after we executed those sacrifice bunts," Sudbrook stated. "We moved runners into scoring position several times, but were unable to bring them in because we didn't make the defense work. You have to execute when you play on this field because it along with Fordham's pitching staff make it very difficult to score."

Lost in the madness of the game was the pitching performance of are pair of Bonnies, starter Cody Vincent and freshman Cael Johnson. Vincent gave the Bonnies a solid seven innings of work, scattering eight hits while giving up just two runs and striking out three.

Johnson entered the game in the eighth with the score knotted at 2-2. The freshman righty worked out of several jams, picking off one base runner and using timely strikeouts to escape unscathed. Johnson escaped a one-out, bases loaded jam in the bottom of the 11th with a strikeout and a harmless ground out. In all, Johnson tossed a sparkling five innings, giving up five hits with five strikeouts and most importantly, no runs.

"The real story of the game was Cael's performance," said Sudbrook. "To come in late in the game and work through some difficult situations is really impressive for a freshman."

Moley's four-hit game upped his hitting streak to 16 games, dating back to last season, and marked the ninth game in a row he has finished with at least two hits. Over the last nine games, the Buffalo, N.Y. native is batting a mind-boggling .644 (29-45) with team-highs in runs (13), doubles (6) and stolen bases (4).

Salerno and sophomore Kyle Gorby chipped in with 2-for-4 performances at the dish. Salerno's included the game-winning single, while Gorby also had a double.

Both teams plated a run in the first as junior Kevin Suminski led off the game with a hit for the second straight day. Suminski was moved to third on a sac bunt after his double and brought home by Moley on single through the left side.

Fordham took the lead in the bottom of the fifth by putting its first three base runners on base against Vincent. Though, Vincent induced a ground out that resulted in a double play, the runner scored from third making it 2-1.

St. Bonaventure answered right back in the top of the sixth as junior Anthony Randich came around to score on a double down the left field line by freshman Brad Steinbach.

The final game of the series will start on Friday at 1 p.m.