March 19, 2010

Box Score

CINCINNATI - Junior Ryan Waldhart hit a single in the seventh inning that brought in two runs and helped the Golden Grizzlies come from behind and tie the game 5-5, but it wasn't enough to carry them through as the as the Oakland University baseball team (2-7) fell 6-5 to Xavier (3-13) Friday afternoon at Hayden Field.

After two scoreless innings, the Golden Grizzlies got on the board first when sophomore Tim Ryan tripled and was then brought home at the next at-bat off a single by junior D.J. Jarrad. Xavier would come back and tie the game at one run apiece at the bottom of the inning thanks to a sacrifice fly from Drew Schmidt.

The Muskateers took the lead in the bottom of the fourth when Daniel Rod knocked a three-run homer out of the park to give Xavier a 4-1 lead after the side was retired.

The Golden Grizzlies then began to stage a comeback in the top of the sixth inning. With sophomore Aaron Cieslak on third, sophomore John Estes brought him home with a single to right field to bring the score to 4-2. At the next at-bat, junior Aaron Wick smacked a double to right center to bring Estes home for a 4-3 score.

Xavier added to their lead in the sixth when Rod advanced home from third on a balk, making for a 5-3 ball game. But the Black and Gold weren't going to go down without a fight and Waldhart singled to left field in the seventh inning to bring in two runs and knot the game up at 5-5.

The Muskateers scored what would become the winning run in the bottom of the seventh off a solo home run by Neil Lindgren, giving Xavier a 6-5 lead. OU had Wick in scoring position in the next inning, after advancing to first and second after a walk and wild pitch, respectively, but Jarrad fouled out to the catcher to retire the side.

After shutting down Xavier in a one-two-three eighth inning, OU had one more chance to score the tying run. Cieslak advanced to first base after being hit by a pitch, but was picked off during the next at-bat, a flyout that allowed Xavier to take the 6-5 win.

Oakland scored five runs off 11 hits with three errors while Xavier notched six runs off 10 hits, committing one error. Sophomore Matt LaMothe (1-3) was credited with the loss, allowing six runs and striking out two in 6.2 innings. Josh Deeg (1-0) picked up his first win of the season, fanning three batters and allowing one hit in 2.2 innings.

OU will continue their series against Xavier on Saturday, March 20 with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. The game can be followed via Gametracker at www.ougrizzlies.com.

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