Score: Saint Louis 2, VCU 1
Location: St. Louis, Mo. (Billiken Sports Center)
Records: VCU 12-25 (5-11 A-10), Saint Louis 21-16 (9-7 A-10)
THE SHORT STORY: Owen Tappy carried a strong performance through the seventh inning, but Saint Louis broke a 1-1 tie with a run in the bottom of the eighth to take the series-opening game on Thursday afternoon.
LEADING OFF:
- Owen Tappy matched last week's Division I-best 7.0 innings of work, allowing just a run and striking out three
- Will Henson went 2-2 and was hit by two pitches, driving in the Rams' lone run
- VCU's offense struck out just twice, a season low
- On the mound, the two walks allowed by the Rams also tied the season best, achieving the mark for the sixth time
- Centerfielder Seth Werchan extended his reached-base streak to 20 games
- Adrian Jimenez extended his hitting streak to eight games, just one game shy of the team's season high, which he achieved earlier in the year
- Zachary Peters was the pitcher of record for the Rams
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Saint Louis scored the first run of the game in the opening inning as it was able to capitalize on a leadoff single by Ian Blazier with a one-out single up the right-field line
- VCU tied the game, 1-1, with a similar sequence in the sixth inning as Jacob Lee opened the frame with a single, and back-to-back base knocks from Jimenez and Henson brought him around to score
- Tappy ended his outstanding day with his sixth consecutive scoreless inning, holding off the Billikens and exiting with 50.1 innings of work on the season and a 3.04 ERA
- Ethan Sitzman was the hero of the day for SLU, batting in the go-ahead run on just his ill-timed second single of the afternoon, driving Blazier in to score once again
- The Rams led off the inning with a Henson single and productive outs by Carter Richey and Nate Kirkpatrick brought the designated hitter around to third base, but VCU couldn't get the tying run across, falling 2-1
UP NEXT:
The Rams will continue their road trip to Saint Louis, Mo., for a three-game Atlantic 10 weekend series on Thursday-Saturday, April 17-19.
