LOUISVILLE, Ky. – St. Bonaventure overcame early costly errors with a wild rally to lead late, but an eight-run eighth inning from host Louisville proved to be the undoing of another Bonnies baseball upset bid, 18-11, Sunday afternoon at Patterson Stadium.
The Bonnies (2-5) opened the series with a win on Friday and entered the day looking to force a split with the perennial ACC power Cardinals.
For awhile, it looked like the Bonnies may do just that as they led through four.
Five of the first six runs for the Cardinals (3-4) were unearned and they played tack-on through the late innings.
Louisville scored two unearned runs in the first, but starter Noah Czajkowski responded by retiring seven in a row after an opening inning error.
In the third, the Bonnies evened things up.
Ryan Davis and Paul Vossen both singled and Gavin Constantine drew a walk to load the bases. That allowed David Marshall Jr. to come through in the clutch as he chopped a first pitch offering from Cardinals starter Patrick Forbes through the left side for a pair of runs and a 2-2 tie.
The momentum continued in the fourth.
Jackson DeJohn and Morgan Little singled to begin the frame, moving up 90 feet each on sac bunt by Davis. Bona then grabbed the lead on a smash to center by Robert Mannino which dropped in front of Louisville's diving centerfielder.
SBU had a chance for more with two on and one out, but a pair of strikeouts ended the rally.
Louisville pushed ahead in the fifth as an error on a dropped fly ball opened the door for two-out thunder from Luke Napleton with a two-run double off the fence in left. Eddie King Jr. singled home another unearned run as the Cardinals finally gained breathing room.
The Bonnies continued to battle, however, getting back within three in the sixth as a Harrison Kaufman ground-rule double set the table for a run before Little singled home another for a 9-6 tally.
Another error paved the way for Louisiville's 10th run following the stretch, however, but the Bonnies refused to go away.
A pair of run-scoring singles from Adam Rankie and Marshall made it a 10-8 score in the eighth and Jack Putney worked a walk to load the bases with one away. Freshman Antonio Cordeiro brought the Bonnies within a run on an RBI single back up the middle, then Davis dumped a two-run hit into shallow right with two outs to put the Bonnies in front, 11-10.
Unfortunately for the visitors, Louisville immediately counter-punched Bona's five-run uprising with eight of its own in the home half of the eighth as the Cards sent 13 men to the plate to surge ahead. In all, 13 runs crossed the plate in the eighth inning alone between the two teams.
Vossen had three hits, two runs and a stolen base while Marshall smacked two hits and drove in three. Little and Davis both had two-hit afternoons as well.
Czajkowski had the best start of his young career, allowing only one earned run with a walk and two strikeouts, scattering three hits over four innings.
Lucas Moore paced the Cardinals with four hits while Napleton finished 3-for-6 with four RBIs.
St. Bonaventure returns to action Thursday with another trip to South Carolina, beginning a four-game series at Presbyterian.
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