Saint Louis scored two runs in the seventh to notch its ninth consecutive victory and 39th overall. The Billikens are now 39-15 on the season. According to the most recent update by the NCAA earlier this week, only four teams have reached the 40-win plateau this season.
Starting pitcher Clay Smith got off to a rocky start, allowing three runs to score (two earned) in the first inning.The Wildcats had four hits in the first frame.
The Billikens answered back with three runs of their own in the third to tie the game at 3-3. The tie was short-lived as NU had an RBI single in the bottom of the inning to take a 4-3 lead through three innings.
In the seventh, a fielding error by Northwestern allowed Connor Gandossy to reach first and start a Saint Louis rally. Alec Solé walked in the next at bat. Then, another error helped the Billikens, as Mike Levine grounded to the pitcher, who threw the ball away at second, sending Solé to second and scoring Gandossy. Jerry Mancuso followed with an RBI single through the left side, scoring Solé and giving SLU a 5-4 lead through seven innings.
A Marco DiRoma RBI single in the eighth scored Danny Brennan and gave the bullpen a 6-4 lead.
Travis Parker entered the game in the bottom of the eighth and threw two scoreless innings to notch his 12 save of the season. The appearance was his 26th of the season, tying the SLU single-season record. He also extended his streak to 39.1 consecutive innings pitched without an earned run.
Sophomore Damian Rivera gets the win, his first since April 1. He is now 4-5 on the year.
Game two of the three game series will start tomorrow, May 18, at 3:00 p.m. in Evanston, Ill.
