(Courtesy Saint Louis Athletics)
Mike Vigliarolo and Braxton Martinez each went 2-3 in a 11-2 win over Eastern Illinois Tuesday night. Senior southpaw Damian Rivera (3-4) gets the win, the 11th of his career. He is now one win shy of cracking the all-time top 20 at SLU.
Saint Louis rises to 25-17 overall with the win.
The Billikens jumped on the EIU starter early, scoring six runs in the first inning on five hits and three walks. Through the first three innings, SLU held a 6-0 lead over the Panthers.
In the fourth, Eastern Illinois plated a run in the top of the inning, but a Vigliarolo RBI double and a Martinez two-run blast to left gave SLU a 9-1 lead heading to the fifth.
EIU hit a home run of their own in the top of the fifth. However, the Billiken offense kept firing on all cylinders, with Josh Bunselmeyer driving in a pair on a single through the left side. Saint Louis took the lead, and the win by a score of 11-2.
In addition to Vigliarolo and Martinez; Drew Curtis, Michael Bozarth and Bunselmeyer had strong performances. Curtis was 2-4 with two runs and two RBIs. Bozarth also was 2-4 with two runs and had one RBI. Bunselmeyer was 2-4 with three RBI.
The bottom of SLU’s lineup, 6-7-8-9 (Curtis, Bozarth, Michael Cusenza and Bunselmeyer) combined to go 7-15 with two doubles, five runs and eight RBIs.
The Billikens host Atlantic 10 rival Dayton at the Billiken Sports Center for a three-game series starting May 2. Saint Louis is currently in second place in the A-10 with a 12-5 record in conference games, while Dayton is fifth with a 10-8 record.
