May 10, 2008

Box Score

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Richmond rallied with four run in the sixth inning to tie the game, but Charlotte pulled away and swept the Atlantic 10 baseball series with Sunday's 10-4 victory at Hayes Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. Hank Coogan and Evan Stehle each had three hits for the Spiders.

Coogan extended his hitting streak to a career-long 21 games, while Stehle has hit safely in six-straight. Both came around to score on Ryan Metzroth's two-RBI single in the sixth inning, while Billy Falasco and Chris Cuppia also drove in runs that inning.

But first-place Charlotte (37-13, 17-7) responded in the bottom of the frame with three runs and never looked back. Richmond slipped to 19-28-2, 9-14-1. With Richmond's hopes of making the A-10 Championship fading, two wins by St. Bonaventure over its next six games - including the three in Richmond next weekend - would eliminate the Spiders.

Two of Stehle's three hits were doubles and the sophomore finished the weekend with six hits. He batted .500 for the week (9-for-18) with five doubles and scored four runs.

"I am extremely proud of the way we played down here," said Richmond head coach Mark McQueen. "We came within inches of taking the first two games against a team in first place that has won 26 times at home."

Reliever Kelly McLain pitched a shutout over the final four innings to pick up his second win in the series (6-0). He fanned three and allowed three hits after starter Luke Stahl was tagged for all four runs.

The Spiders battled, but left nine more batters on base after leaving 27 stranded in the first two games of the series - a pair of come-from-behind, 8-7 Charlotte wins.

"I thought our guys laid it on the line all weekend," said McQueen. "We played hurt, we played tired. And even though the outcome wasn't what we wanted, I can't say enough about how we competed all weekend."

Chris Taylor's solo home run off Jared Bard in the second inning triggered the scoring, but the Spiders' four runs in the sixth tied the game and gave the sophomore starter new life.

Charlotte answered with three runs in the bottom of the sixth, thanks to two hits and two of the Spiders' five errors. Bard's day ended after he walked Aaron Bray to lead off the inning and the 49er eventually scored as the go-ahead run, leaving Bard on the hook for the loss (2-6).

Richmond returns to action Tuesday afternoon with its final non-conference game of the season at Old Dominion. First pitch is Norfolk is set for 2:30 p.m. The Spiders return home to host St. Bonaventure in a three-game series beginning next Thursday at Pitt Field.