Box Score April 17, 2009
Box Score
Cincinnati, Ohio - The ball was flying all over Hayden Field as Xavier and Fordham combined for nine multi-base hits in Friday afternoon baseball action. Unfortunately for the Rams, three of those Musketeer extra baggers were three-run home runs that helped Xavier defeat Fordham, 10-7.
Senior J.P. Mack went through the first two innings with ease before giving up the first three-run home run to Neil Lingren in the third, while the Musketeers added another run in bottom of the fourth to give Xavier a 4-0 lead.
Fordham rallied back with four runs in the top of the fifth to tie the game, 4-4. Ryan Maghini got things going with a one-out single followed by Brian Kownacki's liner that got passed a diving John McCambridge at third. Both runners would move into scoring position on Danny Leach's grounder to the pitcher while Bobby DiNardo brought both runners home with his 11th double of the year.
Angelo Ponte kept things going with a single to left, scoring DiNardo while Ryan McCrann's second double of the game brought Ponte around from first to tie the game.
The Rams took their first lead with a run in the sixth to go up, 5-4. With runners on the corners and one out, Kownacki hustled down the line and, instead of an inning-ending double play, the freshman was safe at first while Mike Mobbs came in from third to score on the fielders choice.
In the seventh, the Rams added two more runs to increase their lead to 7-4. Leach led the inning off with a walk to put a man on for DiNardo to take the Brett Greenwell offering over the left-field fence for his 11th home run of the season.
Xavier made it a brand new ball game in the bottom of the seventh with their second three-run home run of the game, this time off the bat of Ben Thomas, to tie the game, 7-7.
With Jordan Grangard coming in relief for Mack, the Musketeers took a 10-7 lead in the eighth with, yet another, three-run home run, this time by Adam Pasono.
Jordan Conley came into the ninth to earn his third save of the year while Brett Greenwell got his second win of the year in two relief innings while only giving up one run on three hits.
Grangard takes his first loss of the year by giving up three runs on three hits in his 1.1 innings of work. Mack gave up seven runs on ten hits and three walks in 6.2 innings pitched for the no decision.
At the dish, DiNardo led the Fordham offense with two hits, two runs and four RBI while Leach, Ponte and McCrann had multi-hit games.
The Rams and Musketeers will be back in action on Saturday, April 18, at 12:30 PM.
NOTES: With his stolen base in the bottom of the seventh, Danny Leach moved into a tie for fifth-place all-time as he and Rich Goulian (2005-08) have 70 in their careers...Bobby DiNardo also moved up in the Rams' record book with his 11th home run of the year, good for a share of sixth place on the single season list that dinger gives him 24 for his career, tying him with Mark Pleto (1975-78) for eighth place.
