(Courtesy Saint Louis Athletics)
Senior Danny Brennan hit the second home run of his career in the bottom of the 12th inning to give Saint Louis a 9-8 win over Stony Brook in Winston-Salem, N.C. The win moves SLU to 4-6 overall this season. Matt Eckelman (1-0) gets the win in relief.
Brennan was hot at the plate. He was 4-6 on the day with four RBIs and two runs scored. Brennan tacked on two doubles to go with his home run. He accounted for six of Saint Louis nine runs against Stony Brook.
The Billikens jumped out to an early lead, scoring four runs in the second and another in the third to take a 5-0 lead through the first three innings.
Stony Brook responded with a seven-run fifth inning to give the Seawolves a 7-5 lead.
Saint Louis bounced back, tying the score at seven in the bottom of the sixth. The Bills gained the lead in the seventh on a Brennan RBI double.
SBU tied the game at eight in the top of the eighth on a ground-rule double.
The Billikens had something going in the ninth, with runners at first and second and only one out. However, they were unable to capitalize.
Both teams threatened in the 11th with the Seawolves stranding a runner at second, while SLU left runners at first and second.
In the bottom of the 12th, Brennan was the lead off hitter. He worked the count to 2-2. The next pitch was something Brennan could handle and he deposited it over the fence in left-center for the walk off win.
Southpaw Josh Moore started for the Billikens. Despite a rocky fifth, he turned in a good performance, throwing 4.1 innings with six hits, five runs (only three earned), four strikeouts and one walk. Eckelman got the win out of the bullpen after hurling six innings with two hits allowed, one earned run, one walk and two strikeouts.
Brennan paced the Billiken offense, but several other Billikens were strong at the plate. Braxton Martinez went 3-5 with a run scored and two doubles. Freshman Drew Curtis was 2-5 with two runs, two RBIs and a double. Danny Mannion was 2-5 with a run scored and an RBI. As a team, Saint Louis recorded 15 hits, seven of which went for extra bases.
The Billikens are scheduled to open the 2014 home schedule this week. Saint Louis will host Murray State on Mar. 4 and 5. Both games are scheduled to be held at GCS Ballpark in Sauget, Ill.
