ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – Two 7th-inning errors and a pair of 9th-inning walks by the St. Bonaventure baseball team (18-18, 6-9 Atlantic 10 Conference) proved too much to overcome as the Bonnies dropped the series finale, 7-3, to Saint Joseph's (19-24, 9-5 A-10) Sunday afternoon at Fred Handler Park.
With the Bonnies holding a 3-2 lead entering the 7th inning, junior Michael Meredith threw away an out early in the frame, and then classmate Billy Urban dropped a line drive with two outs which would have preserved the 3-2 cushion. Instead the Hawks tied the game up, and then a subsequent single added another run to give SJU a 4-3 lead.
In the 9th with the score still 4-3 in favor of the Hawks, redshirt senior Cael Johnson walked two batters who eventually scored on a triple, and then another run came across following a passed ball to give Saint Joe's its 7-3 victory.
Junior Jason Radwan secured his 11th multi-hit game of the season with a 3-for-3 effort at the plate out of the leadoff spot. Meredith also collected two hits and drove in a run.
Sophomore Asa Johnson made his first career A-10 start and threw six innings – a third of an inning shy of tying his longest career outing – but left with a no-decision. Johnson allowed just two runs and scattered six hits.
Freshman Cameron Carney (0-1) relieved Johnson in the 7th and tossed one inning, allowing three hits and two runs, but none were earned in taking an unfortunate loss. Cael Johnson, Asa's older brother, entered with runners on first and second and no one out in the 8th and worked out of the jam to keep the Bonnies in the game.
The Hawks jumped on the board first with a run in the top of the 3rd as a leadoff walk came around to score on a fielder's choice groundout. However, the Bonnies answered right back in the bottom of the frame with an Austin Ingraham RBI single up the middle to plate Meredith, who had led off with a single to right-center.
Meredith tacked another run on for the Bonnies in the 4th as the shortstop drove a 1-1 pitch through the left side of the infield to score catcher Michael Grieco from second, who had led off the frame with a single over the first baseman's head.
The Bonnies added another run in the 5th when Urban dropped a one-out double into left, just out of the reach of the diving fielder, to plate Radwan from third base. In the bottom of the 1st and 3rd, Urban had Radwan on third base with less than two outs, but for the first time all year he failed to get the runner in both times as he was previously 13-13 in such situations.
Saint Joe's got one of the tallies back when Kevin Taylor led off the top of the 6th with his team-high tying third home run of the season.
The Bonnies threatened to knot the game up in the bottom of the 7th when Ryan Skellie dropped a single into right field. The ball got away from the fielder, and Radwan attempted to score all the way from first, but was thrown out for the final out of the inning.
St. Bonaventure returns to action on Tuesday when it travels to Little Three rival Canisius for a 4 p.m. start against the Griffs. Following that contest, the Bonnies hit the road for a crucial A-10 three-game series against Saint Louis next Friday through Sunday.
