Courtesy of GoBonnies.com
T. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – A three-run eighth inning sent La Salle to victory over the St. Bonaventure University baseball team in a back-and-forth game at rainy Fred Handler Park on Friday afternoon.
The Explorers led 3-0 after four and a half innings, but the Bonnies would rally to take the lead.
A double and two errors in the fifth led to two runs for Bona after the La Salle second baseman kicked a grounder into right field, allowing Aaron Phillips to score from first for a 3-2 margin.
Bona took its first lead of the day in the seventh, tying the game on a double to the left center field gap from Phillips. The Brown and White pushed ahead, 4-3, on a sacrifice fly from Taishi Terashima, but it could have been much more as the Explorers left fielder made a diving grab to steal a hit from Terashima with the bases loaded.
Unfortunately for the Bonnies the lead would be short lived.
La Salle loaded the bases in the eighth and it appeared as though reliever Nate Grant (1-4) had picked up the two-out ground ball he needed to get out of the jam. The Bonnies could not cover the first base bag in time following a ball hit to the edge of the outfield grass, however, and two runs would score. The Explorers ultimately plated three in the inning to take a two-run edge.
St. Bonaventure had a chance in the eighth, pulling within a run after scoring on a wild pitch and then sending runners to second and third. A strikeout ended the rally, however.
Again in the ninth the hosts would send the tying run to third following a two-out triple by Cole Peterson, but a ground out ended the game.
Connor Grey picked up a no-decision after allowing three runs in his six innings of work, striking out 10 La Salle batters.
Peterson was the lone Bonnies player to record multiple hits, going 2-for-5 on the day.
Rain in the forecast this weekend has forced Sunday’s game to be moved to Saturday. The Bonnies and Explorers will now play a doubleheader on Saturday with first pitch scheduled for noon.
Leave a Reply