May 19, 2007

Box Score

CINCINNATI - In dramatic fashion, senior Drew Roberts blasted a walk-off three-run homerun to give Xavier the win in its final game of the season over Massachusetts, 5-4. The Musketeers clinched the fourth seed in the upcoming Atlantic 10 Championship with the win and will wait until the end of the evening to find out who their opponent will be. The win moves XU to 27-29 overall and 17-10 in conference play, while UMass drops to 22-25 on the season and 13-14 in the A-10.

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, UMass pitcher Aaron Smith hit Robbie Kelley with a pitch and then issued a walk to Andy Zellers to set the table for Roberts to send a shot over the left field fence for the walk-off win.

UMass got on the board right away in the top of the first. XU starter Michael Lucas retired the first two batters on ground balls but issued a walk to the third batter before allowing a single to put runners on first and second. Bill Rankin then drilled a double off the left center wall to plate Adam Tempesta for the first run for the Minutemen.

Adam Pasono tied the game in the bottom of the third as the sophomore blasted his first homerun of the season off the left field screen. Xavier would get the next two batters on base but could do nothing with them.

The Musketeers would load the bases in the bottom of the fifth as UMass sent reliever Mike DiCato to the mound to start the inning. XU's patience at the plate would pay off as Neil Lindgren drew a walk to start the inning before Jordan Wolf drilled a ball off DiCato, which the pitcher recovered to throw Wolf out at first. Chris Lozan would then draw the second walk of the inning before Adam Lipski was robbed of a hit on a diving play by the UMass centerfielder. Kelley would load the bases but DiCato got Zellers to go down on strikes to end the threat.

The Minutemen would take that momentum into the top of the seventh as the visitors posted three runs on four hits, which was capped by a Rankin three-run homerun over the right field fence. The homerun gave UMass a 4-1 advantage.

XU would respond in the bottom half as Wolf reached and stole second before Lozan drew a one-out walk to put runners at the corners. Lipski stepped to the plate and drilled a single to right to score Wolf and Lozan trotted around to third to put runners again at the corners for the Musketeers. After a UMass pitching change, the righty, Smith, induced the 5-4-3 double play to get out of the inning with just one run crossing the plate.

After allowing a run in the first inning, Lucas settled down and did not allow a run the rest of the way, scattering nine hits and striking out two in 6.0 innings of work. Dan Graham allowed the three-run seventh inning in just 0.2 innings pitched. Mark Janszen threw 1.1 innings and allowed just two hits before giving way to David Hartman to finish out the game. Hartman ended the game by striking out the first batter he faced and getting a double play to finish out the inning and pick up his third win of the season after Roberts' homerun.

Roberts ended the day 1-for-5 with the huge homerun and three RBIs. Pasono was the only Musketeer with two hits and he finished 2-for-4 with a run and RBI. Lipski was 1-for-5 with the other RBI for XU.

The Musketeers also recognized 10 seniors for their hard work and commitment to the program. Sean Corcoran, Mike Creevy, Dan Graham, Mark Janszen, Bill Konecny, Adam Lipski, Chris Lozan, Drew Roberts, Matt Waskerwitz and Jordan Wolf were all recognized for their dedication to the Xavier baseball program.

Xavier will now get ready for the Atlantic 10 Tournament, which begins next Wednesday at Fifth Third Field in Dayton, Ohio. Fifth Third Field is the home of the Cincinnati Reds' Single A affiliate Dayton Dragons and will be hosting the A-10 Championship for the second time. Please check back to www.GOXAVIER.com for the official bracket release, game times and information on the championship in the coming days.