ST. LOUIS, MO. – The Spalding University baseball team defeated Fontbonne University, 10-4, in game one and fell, 18-8, in game two Sunday afternoon in St. Louis, Missouri.
Spalding took the first game, 10-4. The win improves the Golden Eagles to 19-7 overall, 9-1 in conference play. The loss drops the Griffins to 8-16 overall, 3-5 in conference play.
Jimi Keating (8-0) picked up the win, while Brendan Beck (1-3) was hit with the loss.
Clay Kelly led the way at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a walk, two doubles, two runs batted in, and three runs scored.
Kam Bruner went 2-for-3 with a pair of walks and two runs batted in.
Blake Patterson went 2-for-5 with a solo home run, which gave the Eagles the lead in the top of the fifth.
Jeff Thompson went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer.
Dillon Sievert went 1-for-4 with a solo home run.
Ian Woodall was 1-for-3 with a run batted in and two runs scored.
The Griffins drew first blood in this one as the first four batters reached against Keating, with two coming across to score in the bottom of inning number one. The Eagles responded with two of their own in the top of the second on the Thompson home run. Fontbonne took back the lead in the bottom of the third on a home run and a run scoring single. The Eagles quickly responded in the next half inning with two runs, including the Sievert homer and a Woodall single. Spalding took the lead and broke the game open in the top of the fifth as they scored four times on just two hits, one being the Patterson home run. They tacked on an extra run in the top of the ninth on a Bruner single. Keating settled in after the third inning, as he surrendered just two hits the rest of the way en route to the complete game victory.
The Golden Eagle Nine did not fare as well in game two as they fell to Fontbonne, 18-8, despite swatting seven home runs. The win improves the Griffins to 9-16, 4-5 in conference play. The loss drops the Golden Eagles to 19-8 overall, 9-2 in conference play. Joey Clemente (2-0) picks up the win, while
Kyle Olliges (6-1) is hit with the loss.
Kam Bruner had a solid day at the plate, going 2-for-5 with a pair of home runs.
Clay Kelly went 3-for-4 with a home run and two runs driven in.
Matt Harper hit his fourth home run of the weekend, and
Blake Patterson,
Jacob Woodruff, and
CJ Phillips each drilled solo homers.
Spalding jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first as Bruner went deep for a solo shot. Fontbonne quickly got that run back as they scored one on a run scoring single in the bottom half of the inning. The Griffins tacked on one more in the second and two more in the third, before the Eagles got a pair back on the Patterson and Kelly homers in the top of the fourth. Fontbonne began to pull away in the bottom of the fourth, though, as they scored three runs on three hits, including a pair of Golden Eagle errors. The Griffins kept pouring it on in the fifth as they added five runs on three hits and three more Eagle errors. The Golden Eagles worked away and brought the game back within reach, but Fontbonne iced it by walking it off on a run-rule. Spalding pitching surrendered twenty-two hits, to go along with seven errors by the Eagle defense.
The Golden Eagle Nine will be back in action Wednesday, April 12
th, as they welcome Thomas More College to Derby City Field for a mid-week matchup. First pitch is slated for 4 pm EST.
