May 23, 2008

Xavier 3, Rhode Island 0
Sophomore Danny Rosenbaum delivered a dazzling performance with 8.1 shutout innings and Jordan Conley flourished on the mound and at the plate as top-seeded Xavier edged No. 5 Rhode Island, 3-0, in an elimination game on a picture-perfect evening at Campbell's Field on Friday at the 2008 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship.

Advancing to the finals for the first time in program history, XU (27-30) will face No. 2 seed and defending champion Charlotte (42-14) in the finals on Saturday at 12:00pm. If the Musketeers defeat the 49ers, a winner-take-all finale will be played at 3:30pm on Sat. afternoon.

Rosenbaum retired URI catcher Zach Zaneski on a fly out to right to start the ninth before surrendering a walk to junior Dan Rault and hitting second baseman Mike O'Malley with a pitch. Rosenbaum then gave way to Conley, who walked sophomore Oliver Palmer before striking out designated hitter Jeff Cammans and retiring sophomore Rob Deveney on a ground out to second to nail down his program single-season record tenth save of the season. Rosenbaum allowed eight hits and struck out six while walking just one as he improved to 5-3 on the year.

"My mindset was to just pound the strike zone. Stay aggressive and give my team a chance to win," said Rosenbaum, a two-time A-10 Pitcher of the Week selection.

"Jordan [Conley] has been there for me all season and every time I need someone to come pick me up, he's the man to do it."

Xavier opened the scoring in the top of the third as senior Robbie Kelley laced a lead off double. Kelley moved to third on centerfielder Adam Pasono's sacrifice bunt and crossed the plate on sophomore Drew Schmidt's RBI groundout. Rhode Island threatened in the sixth as Zaneski and Rhault both singled with two outs. However, Rosenbaum struck out O'Malley swinging with two away to escape the jam.

Designated hitter Bobby Freking opened the seventh with a double off the rightfield wall, the first hit surrendered by Pickering since the third inning. After first baseman Zac Richard struck out swinging, Conley stroked a triple to the gap in right-center to give the Musketeers a 2-0 lead. It marked Conley's third extra-base hit of the Championship. Catcher Billy O'Connor then reached on a sacrifice bunt that was bobbled by URI first baseman Tom Coulombe, scoring Freking and allowing O'Connor to reach safely and giving Xavier a 3-0 advantage.

"Danny [Rosenbaum] did a great job for us and it's a testament to not only the kids but for him to come up big like that," said Xavier head coach Scott Googins, the 2008 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year.

"We have great leadership on our team but more importantly we have heart. We've had some tough weekends but we have tough guys and the leadership from the upperclassmen has been huge. You can't measure that."

The loss overshadowed an exceptional effort by Pickering (5-2), who yielded two earned runs on just three hits with five strikeouts and no walks in seven innings. O'Malley and centerfielder Kenny Burns collected two hits apiece for the Rams, who were making their league-leading sixth straight Championship appearance. URI finishes the year with a record of 31-27-1.

"I couldn't be happier for a group of guys. We had a rough start to the year and the guys pulled together and it's because of our seniors," said Rhode Island head coach Jim Foster.

"We have a good nucleus of guys and we look forward to being back in the Championship next year."

Xavier 9, Duquesne 5
Senior Michael Lucas earned his team-leading seventh victory of the season and top-seeded Xavier scored all nine of its runs over the first three innings as it earned a 9-5 win over No. 3 Duquesne on Friday afternoon at Campbell's Field in an elimination game at the 2008 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship.

The Musketeers (26-30) will face fifth-seeded Rhode Island at 7:30pm on Friday evening, with the winner advancing to take on defending champion Charlotte on Saturday in the finals.

Lucas, a first-team All-Conference selection, improved to 7-2 on the year after yielding five runs on seven hits in 7.2 innings. The righthander struck out four and walked four in his 13th start of the season.

"He came out first inning, shut them down and gave us a chance," said Xavier head coach Scott Googins, the 2008 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year.

"It's a big game, he's a senior and that's what you expect. He did a great job."

XU jumped to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first against Duquesne starter Matt Passauer (2-2), with junior shortstop Jordan Conley providing a clutch two-out single that scored junior Steve Brown and designated hitter Bobby Freking. The Musketeers added a run in the second before exploding for five runs in the third inning, highlighted by RBI singles from second baseman Drew Schmidt and junior Sean Farrell.

The Dukes got on the board in the fourth as centerfielder Bill Torre stroked a one out double, stole third and came around to score on a RBI groundout by designated hitter Dante Plassio. Duquesne then mounted a comeback in the eighth to pull within 9-5, scoring four runs off of Lucas on four hits, with the big blow coming on a two-run double by Plassio. However, junior Joe Kohler pitched 1.1 innings of scoreless relief to secure the Musketeers 26th win of the season. Brown led XU with a pair of hits as eight different players scored at least one run.

"I told the guys after yesterday's loss that we're still in this thing and just stay positive," said Googins.

Torre enjoyed a 2-for-4 afternoon at the plate with two runs scored, while Plassio knocked in three for Duquesne (26-29-1), which earned its first Championship berth since 2005 and tied the program's single-season record for wins.

Charlotte 11, Rhode Island 1
CAMDEN, N.J - Sophomore Rob Lyerly had three hits and four RBI and lefty Luke Stahl notched his first career complete game as defending champion Charlotte downed fifth-seeded Rhode Island on Friday afternoon, 11-1, to advance to the finals of the 2008 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship.

Seeking to become the first program since Virginia Tech in 1999-00 to win consecutive A-10 titles, the second-seeded 49ers (42-14) will face Xavier, Duquesne or Rhode Island on Saturday at 12:00pm. If Charlotte would drop its contest at Noon on Saturday, it would play a winner-take-all finale at 3:30pm on Saturday.

Stahl delivered a dominating performance in just his sixth start of the season, yielding just two hits while fanning five as he improved to 4-1 on the year.

"Our defense was sick all day and they were just amazing," said Stahl, who walked just one in a 109-pitch effort.

"We know with our offense we're going to score runs, it's just a matter of time. But if you get them big and you get them early and then go out and set the tone defensively, it just makes things that much easier."

The 49ers wasted no time getting its offensive attack rolling as it plated three runs on three hits, in the top of the first against Rhode Island starter Eric Smith (1-5), which included RBI singles by Lyerly and senior Chris Taylor. Rhode Island looked to rally in the bottom of the first as centerfielder Kenny Burns opened the inning with a single and sophomore Zoey Argulo was hit by a pitch. However, Stahl got senior Zach Zaneski to fly out to right and second baseman Mike O'Malley to ground out into a 5-4-3 double play to retire the side.

Charlotte added two runs in the second on just one hit, freshman Cory Tilton's sixth double of the season, but were aided by a pair of walks and one of three URI errors on the afternoon. A two-run single by Lyerly with the bases loaded in the fourth pushed the 49ers lead to 7-0 and Charlotte tacked on a single run in each of the next four innings to become the first team in Championship history to reach double digits in five consecutive games. During that span, the 49ers have outscored their five opponents by an astounding 68-17.

For the second consecutive game, every starter collected at least one hit for the 49ers. Lyerly and Bray each enjoyed three-hit performances while shortstop Shayne Moody, the Most Outstanding Player of the 2007 Championship, added two hits and three runs scored.

"Our guys are used to being in this environment and we've played against good teams at this time of the year. Hopefully it will continue for one more day," said Charlotte head coach Loren Hibbs.

"Just proud of the way we came out and played but [Luke] Stahl was the deal today. He was really, really good for us."

Vying for its first league crown since 2005, Rhode Island (31-26-1) will take on the Xavier-Duquesne winner at 7:00pm in hopes of meeting Charlotte in Saturday's final. Shortstop Dan Rhault accounted for the Rams offense with a solo homer in the fifth, his sixth of the season.