April 26, 2009

Box Score

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - Three home runs highlighted an 11-hit attack for St. Bonaventure as it defeated Richmond 8-6 in the third and deciding game of the weekend Atlantic 10 series at Fred Handler Park.

The win moves the Bonnies to 20-16 overall, marking the 12th consecutive season they've reached at least 20 wins. More importantly, the Brown and White stay in the A-10 postseason hunt with a 7-10 record in the conference. The loss slips Richmond (7-11) to a half-game behind the Bonnies in the standings.

The three home runs of the bats of sophomore Jesse Bosnik, senior Anthony Randich and freshman Ryan Skellie came over a string of three innings in which St. Bonaventure went from trailing 3-0 to leading 8-4.

Richmond pushed across two runs in the seventh to climb within two, at 8-6. The Spiders were back it again in the eighth, loading the bases with just one out. That's when freshman Jordan Crane, the Bonnies fourth pitcher of the inning, took the mound and worked out of the jam by getting a force out at home and a harmless pop fly to shortstop for the final out.

Crane returned in the ninth to strikeout two batters, including the final out of the game to pick up his first career save. In all, Crane tossed one and two-third innings and didn't allow a hit.

Senior Jim Britton started the game on the hill for the Brown and White and lasted just over seven innings en route to picking up the win. The win improved Britton to 6-3 on the season and puts him one win away from becoming just the fourth pitcher in Bona history to reach 20 career wins.

Four different players finished with multi-hit afternoons. Skellie finished 3-for-4 with two RBI, while Bosnik also added a double to his 2-for-5 day that also featured two runs scored and two RBI. Both Skellie and Bosnik's homers were the first of their collegiate careers.

Batting in the eighth and ninth spots in the lineup, freshman Michael Grieco and sophomore Ryan Mosher each had two hits. Grieco's first hit of the afternoon was a triple to center field, while Mosher ripped an RBI double.

Bosnik's two-run opposite field home run in the bottom of the third inning gave the Bonnies their first lead of the game at 4-3. Skellie kept the momentum going with a leadoff solo blast in the fourth to make it 5-3. Randich made it three consecutive innings with a home run for the Bonnies with a opposite field long ball of his own that accounted for the team's final two runs of the game at made it 8-4.

St. Bonaventure will be back in action on Tuesday, April 28 when it takes on Buffalo in the opening round of the Big 4 Classic on the campus of Canisius College. The reigning Big 4 Classic Champs, the Bonnies will take on the Bulls at 6 p.m. at Demske Sports Complex. A live broadcast of Tuesday game can be heard on WHDL 1450 AM or through the Stretch Internet button on www.GoBonnies.com.