12 HITS NOT ENOUGH TO OVERCOME PIONEERS

LAKELAND, Fla. — The St. Bonaventure baseball team pounded out 12 hits and produced 13 runs, but it wasn't enough to overcome Sacred Heart in a 16-13 loss on Sunday at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational.

Unfortunately, the Bonnies' solid day at the plate was trumped by the Pioneers producing 19 hits of their own en route to dropping the Brown and White's record to 2-6. St. Bonaventure will conclude its southern swing on Monday against Lehigh at 10 a.m.

The game was tied at 7-7 after just three full innings until Sacred Heart out-scored the Bonnies 7-2 through the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. The Pioneers are now 2-4 on the year.

The 3-5 spots in the Bona lineup continue to produce, going a combined 7-for-14 with a pair of home runs and seven RBI. Junior Jesse Bosnik extended his hit streak to six games by going 3-for-6 with a run scored and an RBI. Hitting cleanup, sophomore Ryan Skellie blasted his second home run of the season to highlight his 2-for-4 day that included a walk. Junior Brad Steinbach drilled his team-high third homer, going 2-for-3 with two walks and four RBI.

With the offense still producing, St. Bonaventure's struggles continue on the mound. Starter Cael Johnson lasted six innings, giving up 11 runs on 12 hits in the loss. The Bona bullpen gave up the other five runs over the final three innings.

St. Bonaventure took its first lead of the game with a three-run bottom of the second that resulted in a 4-2 advantage. Freshman Billy Urban and Bosnik provided RBI singles in the inning. Urban's single extended his hit streak to seven games.

After Sacred Heart took the lead back with a five-run top of the third to make it 7-4, the Bonnies responded again in their half of third. A pair of errors by the Sacred Heart pitcher fueled the Brown and White's three-run inning that knotted the score at 7-7. Sophomore Ryan Mosher did supply an RBI single during the inning.

Sacred Heart plated two run in the fifth and the sixth to take an 11-7 lead. Skellie brought the Bonnies back to within striking distance with one swing of the bat with a two-run homer to right center. Junior Derek Speaker (pictured) scored for the fourth time in the game on the home run.

The Pioneers produced six runs over the seventh and eighth innings to bolster their lead to 16-10. A leadoff single by Bosnik followed by a walk to Skellie set the stage for Steinbach in the bottom of the eighth. The centerfielder promptly hammered a pitch over the left field wall to bring the Bonnies within three, at 16-13.

Despite the momentum, St. Bonaventure was unable to muster a comeback effort.