March 17, 2009
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. -
The St. Bonaventure baseball team opened its 2009 home slate with a doubleheader split against Big 4 rival Buffalo on a sunny Tuesday afternoon at Fred Handler Park.
The Bonnies took the opener 6-1, but dropped an 18-9 decision in the nightcap. Both games were only seven innings long. With the split, the Brown and White move to 7-4 on the season heading in to Atlantic 10 action.
A solid outing by freshman pitcher Sebastian Bellitto and a pair of home runs by seniors Tristan Mulcahy and Kevin Suminski fueled the Bona win in the opener. Bellitto improved to 2-0 on the season, tossing four scoreless innings with just three hits and two strikeouts. A native of Jamestown, N.Y., Bellitto has given up just one run in 14 innings of work this season.
Mulcahy gave the Bonnies a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning with a towering solo home run to left centerfield. The home run came with two outs and was the 13th of Mulcahy's career.
St. Bonaventure tacked on a run in each of its next two at-bats to build a 3-0 lead by the end of the fourth inning. Mulcahy scored the third run of the game, as well, coming home on an RBI single by senior Brandon Salerno.
Buffalo (8-9) climbed to within two, 3-1, in the top of the fifth, but that was as close as it would come as the Bonnies tacked on one run in the bottom of the fifth and two more in the sixth for the 6-1 victory. Suminski drilled a leadoff home run, his second of the season, in the fifth inning, while junior Nick Cunliffe drove in two runs in the sixth with a double.
Four pitchers combined to toss the final three innings of work.
In all, the Bonnies finished with seven hits in the opener, highlighted by four extra-base hits. Salerno's two hits that included a double came from the leadoff spot, while Mulcahy went 2-for-2 with two runs scored.
Buffalo provided enough offense for both teams in game two, scoring at least two runs in each of the first five innings. All nine starters drove in at least one run, while the Bulls pounded out a total of 14 hits and stole six bases.
The Bulls pulled away with a six-run third inning that gave the visitors a 10-3 advantage.
Despite four of their six pitchers giving up three or more runs each, the Bonnies did finish with 10 hits in game two. Freshman Ryan Skellie led the way with three singles, while eight other players had one hit. Junior Kyle Gorby cracked his first home run of the season, a three-run shot in the third inning over the left field wall.
St. Bonaventure will open Atlantic 10 play this weekend when it travels to Dayton for a three-game series. First pitch on Friday night is slated for 6:30 p.m. Live gametracker coverage of all three games of the series is available on www.GoBonnies.com.
