BASEBALL FINISHES TRIP WITH 3-6 RECORD

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — St. Bonaventure closed out its nine-game southern swing on Monday morning with a 13-8 win over Lehigh in 12 innings at Chain Of Lakes Park at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational.

Trailing by three runs, 8-5, after five innings, the Bonnies scored the final eight runs of the contest, including five in the top of the 12th to finish the trip 3-6. The Mountain Hawks slip to 1-5 with the loss.

Though, the Brown and White pounded out 14 hits, the highlight of the afternoon was the pitching performance of freshman Robert Nalepa. Nalepa shutdown the Lehigh offense with seven scoreless innings of relief work en route to his first career victory. The Mountain Hawks failed to get a runner past second base over Nalepa's seven innings and had just four hits.

Batting in the leadoff and two-slot, senior Nick Cunliffe and freshman Billy Urban each went 3-for-6 to pace the Bonnies. Junior Brad Steinbach posted his second straight four-RBI performance, highlighted by a bases-clearing double in the 12th. Sophomore Ryan Skellie added a double and three runs scored, while classmate Nick Brennen (pictured) also scored three times with a triple and home run.

The Bonnies added a run in the sixth, seventh and ninth inning to overcome the three-run deficit, 8-5, and force extra innings with the score tied 8-8. The game-tying run in the ninth came when junior Jesse Bosnik was issued a walk with the bases loaded.

Nalepa shined in the extra frames, holding Lehigh scoreless over its three at-bats, setting the stage for the Bonnies in the top of the 12th.

After being hit by a pitch to start the inning, Brennen stole second to put the eventual game-winning run in scoring position. An error on the Lehigh shortstop on a grounder hit by Ryan Mosher brought Brennen in and gave the Bonnies a 9-8. Mosher crossed the plate two batters later on an RBI single through the right side to make it a two-run, 11-9, game. The final blow of the frame came with two outs, as Steinbach hammered a curve ball on a 2-2 count, clearing the bases for the final 13-8 outcome.

Freshman Andrew Revello started the game on the mound and last 4.2 innings in his second career start. Bosnik did extend his hit streak to seven games with his 1-for-5 day at the plate that included two RBI. Urban's three-hit afternoon gave him a hit in each of the eight games he played in on the trip.

St. Bonaventure will have some time off until it returns to action with a doubleheader against Niagara on Wednesday, March 17 at Fred Handler Park. Game one will start at 2 p.m. and can be heard live on www.GoBonnies.com through Stretch Internet.