By Tony Jones

BRONX, N.Y – The St. Bonaventure baseball team (7-14, 1-3 Atlantic 10) used a four-run 4th inning to defeat Fordham, 6-5, Friday in Atlantic 10 Conference action.

Sophomore Jason Radwan doubled to left field in the 2nd inning, and later scored on a passed ball to put the Bonnies in front, 1-0. The Rams (17-12, 2-2 A-10) answered with three runs in the bottom half of the inning, powered by a two-RBI single from right fielder Tim Swatek.

Junior Ryan Skellie reached on a fielding error by third baseman Brian Kownacki in the top of the 4th, and later scored on an Alex Calderon single. Senior Brad Steinbach then drove a 1-1 pitch off Brian Pendergast (1-5) over the left-field wall to vault the Bonnies to a 5-3 advantage. 

St. Bonaventure extended the lead to 6-3 in the top of the 7th when sophomore Billy Urban came home on a Skellie sacrifice fly.

Fordham rallied in the bottom of the 8th, scoring two runs off reliever Cael Johnson (2-2) to close the gap to 6-5. Senior Jamie Wallschlaeger came on in the 9th inning and threw a perfect final frame to earn his first save of the season.

Starter Jordan Crane was solid in his second start of the season, throwing four innings of three-run baseball before leaving with a leg injury. Steinbach and Radwan each paced the offensive attack with two hits.

The Bonnies return to action tomorrow afternoon in game two of the three-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.

NOTES: This was St. Bonaventure's first game in five days after Tuesday's game at Le Moyne was canceled due to inclement weather ... the Bonnies are 3-2 this season in one-run games ... Skellie is now tied with junior Nick Brennen for the team lead in RBI with 15 ... all six of St. Bonaventure's runs were unearned, thanks to three Fordham errors in the field ... three of the Rams five runs were unearned; the first a result of a Crane passed ball in the 2nd, with the other two caused by a Radwan fielding error in the 8th.