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PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – The St. Bonaventure baseball team (0-2) carried a three-run lead into the 7th inning Sunday afternoon against South Dakota State (4-2), but for the second consecutive day it dropped a contest to the Jackrabbits, this time by a 12-7 margin.

The Bonnies held a 6-3 lead before surrendering three runs in the 7th, but got one back in the bottom of the frame to take a 7-6 edge into the 8th inning. However, SDSU added four runs in the 8th to reclaim the lead and ultimately held on for its second straight day of double-figure runs off Bona pitching.

Redshirt sophomore Bret Heath (pictured) – one day after collecting his first collegiate hit – put together his best performance in the Brown and White with a career-best four RBI, going 2-4 at the plate with a double. Senior Jason Radwan continued his hot start to the season as he reached base in all five of his appearances, going 3-3 with a pair of walks. Freshman Thaddeus Johnson went 2-3 with a run scored and a walk to round out the Bona trio of multi-hit batters.

Redshirt senior Eddie Gray (0-0) started but left with a no-decision after tossing 5+ innings and allowing three earned runs. The southpaw struck out four while walking three, allowing five hits and hitting one batter. Junior Joel Rosencrance (0-1) was ticketed with the loss after allowing six runs, all earned, in 2 1/3 innings in relief of Gray.

Sunday's opening script was completely reversed from Saturday's 1st inning as it was the Bonnies getting off to a fast start, plating four runs in the first frame, compared with SDSU getting out to a 6-0 lead after the 1st inning Saturday.

Senior Eric Jutca – who had reached on a single – plated the first run on classmate Billy Urban's sacrifice fly. Radwan scored SBU's second run after Michael Meredith reached on an error by the second baseman. Rosencrance and Meredith then both scored on Heath's double to stake the Bonnies to a 4-0 cushion.

Bonaventure added another run in the 2nd inning when Radwan singled home Johnson, who had led off the inning with his first hit of the year. South Dakota State got on the board with a pair of runs in the 3rd and one more in the 5th to cut the Bona lead to 5-3. However, SBU got one back in the bottom of the 5th when Meredith scored on a Heath single to create that 6-3 Bonaventure lead.

Rosencrance's first inning of work in the 6th was stellar as he inherited runners on first and second from Gray with nobody out. The Clarks Summit, Pa. native struck out the first batter he faced and then induced an inning-ending double-play ball to get out of trouble. However, the Jackrabbits got to him over the final 1 1/3 innings as he allowed hits to seven of the 12 batters he faced on the afternoon, striking out one and walking another.

After SDSU tied the game up at 6-6 in the 7th, it was once again Heath who put SBU in front, this time on a sac fly which scored Urban, who had singled.

St. Bonaventure returns to action on Monday against Mount St. Mary's – the first of three straight games with the Mountaineers over a four-day stretch. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. with junior Asa Johnson scheduled to make his first start of the year on the hill for the Bonnies.

GAME NOTES: South Dakota State won Saturday's meeting, 10-5 … freshman pitcher Drew Teller made his second appearance in a row, tossing 2/3 of an inning in the 8th and allowing a run … Robert Nalepa threw the 9th inning for the Bonnies, allowing two earned runs … Meredith reached base twice on SDSU errors.