For Charlotte’s baseball team, offense was the key to success over the weekend against Saint Joseph’s. The 49ers defeated the Hawks Saturday afternoon and in a double header Sunday, improving their record to 8-1 in the Atlantic 10.
The 49ers were originally supposed to play the Hawks at Campbell’s Field in New Jersey Friday but poor weather conditions and scheduling conflicts moved the game to Saturday afternoon at Hank De Vincent Field at La Salle.
Saturday’s game was scoreless through the bottom of the third, until Charlotte senior Cory Tilton hit a sacrifice fly to score Kevin Gillespie. The lead was short-lived, however, as the Hawks scored in the top of the fifth to tie the contest.
Charlotte broke the tie when they scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh, one in the eighth and four in the ninth. Brett Tiagwad scored a run in the ninth for the Hawks but it wasn’t enough to earn the win.
The double header Sunday was dominated by Charlotte, which outscored Saint Joseph’s 22-1 as the 49ers scored 11 runs in both games.
Like Saturday, the lead came late for Charlotte in Game 1 as the 49ers got on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth. From there, Charlotte scored ten more runs within the next four innings while shutting down the Hawks’ offense.
In Game 2, the Hawks were able to score only once in the fifth inning, handing the victory to the 49ers. The Hawks are 3-6 so far in the A-10.
URI claims series
After suffering a loss in the first game of a three-game series, Rhode Island pulled through and defeated Saint Louis in the final two contests of the weekend.
On Friday, the Rams fell short to the Billikens, allowing them to get an early lead in the top of the first with three runs. URI came back with one run in the bottom of the first. However, with back-to-back errors in the second inning, Saint Louis was handed two runs, improving its lead to 5-1.
The Rams only had three scoring opportunities from there on out, with one runner on base in the third, fourth and ninth innings. The Billikens, meanwhile, scored two more times to claim the 7-1 victory.
Rhode Island freshman Jeff Roy responded for the Rams after the loss, recording two runs, two hits and two RBIs in Saturday’s 6-2 win against the Billikens.
As a team, URI was nearly perfect in the field, making a huge improvement from the miscues that occurred in Friday’s game.
Saint Louis was on the scoreboard early in the second to take a 1-0 lead. The Rams, however, came right back and took the lead back in the bottom of the second after scoring two runs.
Rhode Island held on for the win, allowing Saint Louis to score only once more in the top of fifth.
On Sunday, the Rams defeated the Billikens 4-2 in the rubber match to win the series.
All of the runs for URI came in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings as the Rams took a 4-1 lead. Saint Louis managed to score again in the eighth but it wasn’t enough to close the gap.
A-10 accolades
La Salle’s George Smith, Jr., Dayton’s Brian Blasik, Charlotte’s Corey Roberts and Saint Louis’ Alex Alemann were all awarded honors for outstanding performances this week.
Smith was awarded Rookie of the Week after filling in for injured starter Tony Negrin. The freshman went 6-for-12 during the week, with six RBIs and two runs.
The Player of the Week award was given to Blasik after he recorded his second home run this season against the Minutemen. Blasik helped drive in five RBI and had eight hits for a batting average of .500.
Roberts and Alemann both were awarded the Pitcher of the Week. Roberts pitched his third shutout of the season against Saint Joseph’s in an 11-0 win. Alemann helped the Billikens to a 7-1 victory on April 8 against Rhode Island, striking out three and walking two.
Amy Chaunt can be reached at [email protected].
