Brad McElroy broke a one-all tie in the sixth with his fourth home run of the season as Charlotte swept Saint Louis Sunday. |
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Back-To-Back Homers Breaks Tie as Charlotte Baseball Sweeps Saint Louis 9-1
March 23, 2008
Charlotte, N.C. - Brad McElroy and Chris Taylor hit back-to-back home runs in the sixth to break a one-all tie as the Charlotte 49ers finished the sweep of visiting Saint Louis 9-1 in Atlantic 10 baseball at Robert and Mariam Hayes Stadium on Easter Sunday. Charlotte improves to 17-2 and 3-0 an A-10 play. The Niners have won their last seven consecutive contests, and are 15-0 at home this season. Saint Louis drops to 8-11, 0-3 in league games.
Neither starter allowed a run until each team scored in the fifth. Charlotte starter B.J. Hagen walked first baseman Greg Rodgers with the bases loaded and two outs to give up the run to Brandon Parsons, who had singled earlier in the inning.
The Niners grabbed an unearned run against SLU starter Dave Sever on two singles and an outfield error. Aaron Bray hit a fielder's choice groundout which resulted in an RBI to score first baseman Alex Burt, who had singled to lead off the inning.
McElroy hit the 2-0 pitch over the right field fence to lead off the six, then Taylor followed by hitting the scoreboard in right center after a called first strike. McElroy has homered in two straight games, while Taylor hit two on Saturday. Taylor was 6-for-10 in the series, with two doubles, three home runs and three walks. He had a team-best seven RBI in the series.
The Niners exploded for six more runs in the eighth. McElroy led off the inning with a single and he scored on a double by Taylor to right field. Burt drove him in after a groundout got him to third with an infield single to the left side. After a fielder's choice for the second out, Charlotte managed a walk and single, then Bray hit a high chopper over a drawn-in infield over the third baseman to knock in two runs. Shortstop Shayne Moody doubled in two more runs to complete the scoring that inning.
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Hagen was lifted with a tie game after five. He scattered five hits and three walks, with two strikeouts, allowing just the bases-loaded walk.
Reliever Kelly McLain earned his first career win (1-0). He pitched the final four innings, allowing just two baserunners on singles. He struck out a career-high four.
Sever lasted 7.1 innings on 115 pitches. He allowed 10 hits and one walk, while recording four strikeouts. He was charged with six runs, five were earned. He took the loss and fell to 1-4 on the season. Reliever George Hebert gave up three runs in the eighth in two-thirds of an inning pitched. He gave up three hits and a walk.
Taylor led Charlotte with three hits on the day. He had two RBI, giving him a team-leading 31 on the season. With three home runs this weekend, he also leads the team with six.
The Niners host Radford Tuesday night, then host Wake Forest Wednesday night, with both games beginning at 6 p.m.
NOTES: Charlotte has won its last 12 A-10 series, including all nine in 2007 and the final two of 2006. Charlotte is 28-3 at Robert and Mariam Hayes Stadium, since the park opened on March 30, 2007. Including the A-10 tournament, Charlotte has won its last 11 conference games in a row, by an average score of 10-3. Saint Louis scored nine of its 16 runs in the series in the first five innings. The Niners scored 24 of its 30 runs against Saint Louis in the sixth inning or later and trailed in at least one point in all three games. Charlotte has trailed in 14 of its 19 games, winning 12 times in come-from-behind fashion, including a pair of 10-inning contests.
