By Skye Tulio
Assistant Sports Editor
The baseball team (13-15, 2-7) will travel to George Washington for a three-game series beginning today at 4 p.m.
“George Washington’s below .500 overall, so it’s obviously one of those things that you feel like you better win two out of three, if for no other reason than to get a little confidence and right the ship a little bit,” coach Larry Sudbrook said. “We’re going on the road, but so far we’ve done better on the road than at home, so we’ll see.”
The Colonials (14-22, 3-6) swept the visiting Bonnies in a three-game series during the 2010 season. The two teams will face off at the recently renovated Barcroft Park, located 10 minutes away from the George Washington campus in Arlington, Va.
Junior Jason Radwan said the Bonnies realize the importance of the upcoming series in regard to end of the season.
“We’re pretty confident even though we just got swept,” Radwan said. “We know it’s a big series for us and we need to take at least two out of three to stay in the hunt for the playoffs.”
The Bonnies are currently ranked 12th in the conference with only Temple (1-8) trailing them.
Last weekend, Rhode Island (22-14, 9-3) swept the Bonnies at Fred Handler Park, scoring double-digit runs in all three games of the series (12-8, 12-6, 13-0).
In each of the first two games of the series, the Bonnies allowed 12 runs. The Rams struck first each time, grabbing an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first Friday and a 2-0 lead in the top of the third Saturday.
The Bonnies starters threw a combined 254 pitches in 12-and-a-half innings during the first two games. The Brown and White offense put up eight runs in the first game and six in the second, but could not surpass the Rams offense.
The last time the Brown and White allowed double-digit runs in consecutive A-10 games came during the final series of the 2009 season against Charlotte.
“There was nothing to holler at (the team) for,” Sudbrook said. “Very simply, they (Rhode Island) are extremely good and I thought it was the best offensive Rhode Island team I’ve seen in 27 years. It’s definitely one of the best offensive teams I’ve seen overall in the conference in 27 years.”
Radwan said the Bonnies couldn’t match up with the Rams offensively.
“Overall, the Rams hit the ball a lot better than we did,” Radwan said. “We didn’t play bad, but they were just a really good offensive team.”
Bona starter Eddie Gray pitched seven-and-a-half innings in the first game Friday, throwing a total of 128 pitches. The redshirt junior (3-2) gave up 10 earned runs on 10 hits, walking two and striking out six.
Sudbrook said he thought a bad-luck spell caused his best pitcher to have his worst outing of the year.
“Two weeks before, Gray was the A-10 Pitcher of the Week and never let Fordham get a runner to second base — that’s unheard of in baseball,” Sudbrook said. “He got hammered on Friday, and I thought, ‘Boy, what horrible luck.’”
Offensively for the Bonnies, junior Austin Ingraham went 2-for-3 with two walks and two runs scored. Junior shortstop Michael Meredith went 3-for-4 with a walk, two RBI and two runs scored.
Freshman Cameron Carney relieved Gray in the top of the eighth inning, giving up a three-run home run off Rams centerfielder Jeff Roy.
In the second game of the series, the Bonnies left the bases loaded twice, leaving 11 men on base for the first time since the March 24 game against Dayton. It also ties for the third-most in a game for the Bonnies this year.
The Bonnies got on the board in the fourth inning, when senior Michael Grieco scored on a fielder’s choice by junior Nick Lohrer, but by then the Rams had built a 6-1 lead. Senior Ryan Skellie scored on a double by Lohrer in the bottom of the sixth.
The team tacked on two runs on four hits on a Skellie single and a double by junior Billy Urban to make it 9-4 in the bottom of the seventh. The Bonnies scored their final two runs in the bottom of the ninth to no avail. The Rams added two runs in the top of the eighth and one final run in the ninth.
The Bonnies allowed five stolen bases, threw three wild pitches and gave up a total of 15 hits with nine walks. Starting pitcher Jordan Crane (2-1) went five innings and gave up eight runs (five earned) on 10 hits. Crane threw a total of 130 pitches, walking six and striking out two.
Sudbrook said after he watched the Rams take down Crane, he knew they were flat out the better team.
“The next day, when Jordan comes out and hits 90 mile per hour six times in the first inning and the first four innings he’s sitting at 87-89 on the gun, and they’re still ripping him, I realized Eddie didn’t pitch bad … they’re just good,” Sudbrook said.
Sunday, senior Nick Brennen broke up Rams starter Sean Furney’s no-hitter in the sixth inning with a line drive up the middle. Furney held the A-10’s best-hitting team to just two hits during his seven shutout innings. The Bonnies entered the game as the only team in the league hitting .30o, but dropped to .296 after the loss.
Senior right fielder Ryan Skellie and junior left fielder Eric Jutca recorded a hit each for the Bonnies, but the team could not produce any runs. The Bonnies were outhit, 16-3.
Redshirt senior Cael Johnson (1-5) picked up his fifth consecutive loss, allowing six runs, walking four and striking out three. The starter, relieved by his younger brother, sophomore right-hander Asa Johnson, pitched five innings.
Asa Johnson threw two innings and allowed seven runs before handing the ball to Radwan, who pitched two shutout innings.
Sudbrook said he realizes the position the team is in, but he is not upset with the way it performed this past weekend.
“We’re definitely in trouble,” Sudbrook said. “I’m smart enough to know that at 2-7 we’re probably going to have to win 10 0r 11 of our last 15 games, which is difficult to do, but I’m not going to say it’s impossible. I’ve seen teams here at St. Bonaventure do it before.”
tuliosa10@bonaventure.edu
