ST. LOUIS – Strong pitching throughout the day guided Saint Louis to a Saturday doubleheader sweep of the St. Bonaventure baseball team, handing the Billikens the series victory.

Saint Louis grabbed game one, 5-0, and pulled ahead late for a 4-1 win in the second contest.

GAME 1 – Saint Louis 5, St. Bonaventure 0 | 

The pitching performance of Cody Luther for SLU was the story in game one.

Luther twirled a no-hitter, striking out 11.

Two walks were the only blemish on his stat line – Sam Fuller worked a walk to lead off the fourth, but a double play ended the threat. In the sixth, Kevin Koziol got aboard on a two-out walk as well, but a fly out left him aboard.

Casey Vincent started and pitched well for the Bonnies, holding the score at a 1-0 tally into the seventh inning before back-to-back home runs gave the Billikens breathing room. Vincent allowed three earned runs in 6.2 innings of work and did not walk a batter.

GAME 2 – Saint Louis 4, St. Bonaventure 1 | 

The Billikens took a 1-0 lead in the first and that stood until the sixth when the Bonnies finally got on the scoreboard.

Brandon Henshaw reached on an infield single, moving to second on a wild pitch. Then, with two away, Kevin Higgins came through with a hit through the right side to plate Henshaw for the tie.

Unfortunately for the Bonnies, that deadlock would remain for just one batter into the home half of the inning as Ben Livorsi broke the tie with a leadoff homer to right. Two more runs would come across in the inning and the three-spot would be the difference.

Jackson Wark (2-2) got the win with six innings of one-run ball on the hill, striking out 10. Ryan Lefner earned the save with the final three innings, allowing only two hits with no walks.

Jeff Palczewski singled twice and Alex Schutz delivered a single and a double to lead the Bonnies.

Ben Contento started and worked six innings (6.0 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) while Murphy O'Brien tossed two scoreless frames of relief, allowing just one hit with two punchouts.

The Bonnies return home at 8-19 overall and 4-8 in Atlantic 10 play while the defending conference champion Billikens are now 15-19, 4-5.

Next up for the Brown and White is a Tuesday doubleheader on home turf vs. Niagara. First pitch at Fred Handler Park is slated for 2 p.m.

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