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The Billiken baseball team (4-2) traveled to Nashville, Tenn. from Feb. 22 to Feb. 24 to take on Northern Kentucky University in a three game set. After a last minute change, they only played two games against the Norse with a game against Northwestern University in between. The weekend featured 25 straight innings of unearned runs by the pitching staff and 18 runs powered in by the SLU offense.
On Friday, Feb. 22 the Bills’ ace, Alex Alemann, pitched four solid innings on the mound before an error in the fifth allowed for the Norse’s first run to cross the plate. In the sixth, another error allowed for two more runs to cross.
The Bills put up three runs in the second inning but then saw their bats quiet down for the remainder of the game. It went into extra innings and the Norse gained two runs in the 14th, both unearned. James Norwood picked up the loss after pitching six innings with nine strikeouts two walks and two unearned runs. The Bills fell to 2-2 on the season, falling 5-3 in 14 innings.
After a change in scheduling, the Billikens headed out to play the Wildcats of Northwestern on Saturday, Feb. 23. Behind a solid pitching staff led by Clay Smith, the Bills shut down the Wildcats’ bats. Smith pitched an outstanding shutout, going six innings and giving up only four hits and one walk while striking out seven batters.
After being dormant on Friday, the Bills’ bats came to life against Northwestern, accumulating nine hits resulting in 10 runs. By the end of the fourth inning, the Billikens had crossed the plate seven times and led 7-0. The Wildcat offense stayed quiet until the ninth inning when it drove four runs in, but the rally wasn’t enough to catch the Billikens. SLU improved to 3-2 on the season after the 10-4 performance.
A rematch came on Sunday, Feb. 24 between the Billikens and the Norse with the Bills looking to continue their hot streak from Saturday. Jordan Hammerman spearheaded the Billiken offense, recording the second homerun of his career in the second to give the Bills an early 2-0 lead. Alex Kelly and Braxton Martinez launched back-to-back solo homers in the third, giving the team a 4-1 advantage by the end of the inning. Nick Bates pitched an impressive seven and one third innings giving up three earned runs while striking out five in order to pick up the win. Marco Mejia recorded a scoreless ninth to earn the save. The Bills improved to 4-2 after winning 5-3.
After a short break in St. Louis, The Billikens headed to Cape Girardeau, Mo. on Tuesday, Feb. 26 to take on Southeast Missouri State University. The Billiken offense continued to dominate opposing pitchers, putting up 8 runs, keyed by an Alex Kelly homerun.
From March 1 to March 3, the Billikens will head to Port Charlotte, Fla. to participate in the Snowbird Invitational. The squad will open up against Western Michigan University before playing a Saturday double header with the University of Michigan and closing on Sunday against the University of Maine.