(Courtesy Saint Louis Athletics)
The Saint Louis baseball team defeated Rhode Island 3-1 to complete a three-game road sweep of the Rams. Junior LHP Damian Rivera (2-2) gets the win for the Billikens. The Bills are now 14-8 overall and open conference play 3-0. The victory is SLU’s fifth in a row.
The Billikens were unable to score for the first six innings and trailed URI 1-0 in the seventh. In the seventh, Colton Frabasilio hit a single to jump start the SLU offense. The next batter, Danny Brennan had a bunt single to the pitcher, but an error on the first baseman allowed Frabasilio to advance to third. He scored on a balk from URI, tying the game at 1-1.
Saint Louis took the lead in the eighth, on an RBI single to center field from Frabasilio.
Michael Bozarth added an insurance run in the ninth with an RBI double, scoring Danny Mannion from second.
Frabasilio was the top hitter for SLU, going 2-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Bozarth extended his on-base streak to 20 games.
Starting pitcher Josh Moore was solid for Saint Louis. He hurled 6.2 innings without allowing an earned run, striking out five and walking two while allowing five hits. Rivera took over in the seventh, throwing 2.1 shutout innings without allowing a base runner.
Next up for the Billikens is a mid-week showdown with Eastern Illinois on Tuesday, March 25. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. in Charlestown, Ill.
