(Courtesy Saint Louis Athletics, Photo Credit Mick Lite)
The Billikens hit three home runs to power past North Dakota in a pair of games. Saint Louis won the first game 6-4 and the second game 12-4. Nick Bates (2-0) won game one, his 16th career win (sixth all-time at SLU). Damian Rivera(1-2) won the nightcap. Matt Eckelman picked up the save in game one, his third of the season.
Saint Louis rises to 6-6 on the year with the wins.
The Billikens opened the scoring early in game one, with a Mike Vigliarolo RBI double in the first inning.
North Dakota tied the game in the top of the second on an RBI single. SLU regained the lead in the bottom of the second when freshman Drew Curtis blasted a home run to right center. It was the first home run of his career. Jake Hensonadded an RBI double and Michael Bozarth tacked on an RBI single to bring the lead up to 4-1 Saint Louis.
North Dakota added three runs in the third to tie the score at 4.
The Bills couldn’t take the lead again until the seventh inning on a two-run home run from Vigliarolo. It was his third home run of the year. His shot put SLU ahead for good, as the Billikens captured the 6-4 win.
In game two, the Billikens picked up where they left off in game one. Vigliarolo doubled to left, scoring the game’s first run and giving SLU an early 1-0 lead.
In the fourth inning, freshman Michael Cusenza ripped a triple to the right field corner, scoring two.
Entering the fifth inning, Saint Louis had a 3-0 lead. However, the Billiken offense exploded in the fifth, scoring nine runs in the frame. Among those nine runs was a three-run blast from Danny Murphy, his second homer of the year.
North Dakota put two runs on the board in the sixth to cut the lead to 12-2.
UND added a run in both the seventh and eighth innings to bring the final tally to 12-4.
VIgliarolo had a terrific day at the plate for Saint Louis. He was 4-7 with two doubles, a home run, two runs scored and four RBIs. Vigliarolo amassed a whopping 1.286 slugging percentage and a .625 on-base percentage. Alec Solé also had a great day, scoring five runs single-handedly.
The Billikens and North Dakota will return to action this afternoon at 1 p.m. at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo. Inclement weather is expected in the area before and during game time. Check www.SLUBillikens.com for the most up-to-date Billiken baseball schedule .
