ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – A five-run uprising in the eighth inning allowed the St. Bonaventure baseball team to rally past visiting VCU and secure an Atlantic 10 series sweep with an 11-10 win as the Bonnies put together late heroics for the third straight day at Handler Park.
After coming through with back-to-back walk-off wins the previous two days, the Bonnies started strong on Sunday.
A Jayce Tharnish lead off home run in the first gave the Bonnies an early lead, but VCU claimed command with a six-run third.
The Bonnies chipped away through the middle innings and pulled within 8-6 heading for the eighth when they capped their rally.
Jack Pawlowicz delivered a pinch-hit sacrifice fly to bring things to an 8-7 score and the Rams intentionally walked Tharnish to load the bases.
That turned out to be a mistake as David Marshall Jr., who tied a program record with six hits on Saturday, stayed hot by punching a two-RBI single through the left side to take the Bonnies from one down to one up, 9-8.
Chris Hoalcraft provided needed insurance with a run-scoring single before a Rams wild pitch allowed the Bonnies to lead by three heading for the ninth.
Just as in the previous two wins, the ninth inning proved to be an adventure.
Sean Swenson continued his strong series at the plate by singling in two runs to allow the Rams to close within a run with the tying run standing at second base in scoring position.
Bona reliever Luke Roggenburk coaxed a fly out off the bat of Adrian Jimenez, the Rams leading hitter in batting average on the season, to end the game and lock in Bona's first-ever series sweep of VCU.
A day after a wild 17-16 victory saw the Bonnies rack up 21 hits, the home squad finished with 13 on Sunday. Antonio Cordeiro delivered a three-hit performance while Tharnish, Marshall, Hoalcraft and Harrison Kaufman all collected two hits apiece. Hoalcraft and Tharnish each registered three RBIs in the win.
Roggenburk, who had missed over a week due to injury, returned to earn the win with three innings out of the bullpen. He did not allow an earned run as he scored his third victory of the season.
The Bonnies scored in double digits for the third straight day, winning a third consecutive one-run thriller to improve to 16-27 overall and 7-17 in A-10 action.
The top third of the order for the Bonnies was nearly unstoppable during the weekend: Tharnish went 7-for-16 with six extra-base hits and seven runs out of the leadoff spot; Marshall was 10-for-18 with eight RBIs out of the two-hole and Hoalcraft cracked three home runs, delivered six hits, seven RBIs and three stolen bases from the three-spot.
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH JASON RATHBUN
"It was a great weekend for the team. I'm proud of this group's heart. There are so many positives to continue to build on. Even through tough times, this group is fun to be around. We're enjoying every minute left with them. The lineup really produced this weekend and was fun to watch."
UP NEXT
St. Bonaventure continues its nine-game homestand by hosting UMass next weekend for a three-game series beginning Friday at Handler Park beginning at 3 p.m.
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