Roth's homer helps St. Ambrose defeat Clarke
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Ambrose (IA) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 2 |
|
#12 Kansas Wesleyan | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | X | 8 | 11 | 2 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Ambrose (IA) | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 13 | 2 |
|
Clarke (IA) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
Brandon Roth hit a three-run home run as part of a five-run first inning to lead St. Ambrose to an 8-4 win over Clarke in Salina, Kan., Friday afternoon.
The victory followed an 8-4 loss to No. 12 Kansas Wesleyan as SAU split its four games on opening weekend.
The Bees pounded out 13 hits in the win over the Pride, including four in the opening inning. With one out, Joey Fitzgerald Jr. doubled and Brandon Matias walked before Roth ripped his three-run shot. Jeremy Conforti singled before Sam Wampler's double brought him in for a 4-0 lead. Pinch runner Daniel Laughery stole third before coming in to score when Kevin Niedzwiedz reached on an error.
Clarke pushed across two runs in the bottom of the first before St. Ambrose came right back in the second. Fitzgerald doubled and scored on a two-out Conforti single.
The Pride got to within 6-4 before the Bees tacked on two insurance runs in the sixth. Jake Pauley singled and Fitzgerald doubled and Matias followed with a two-run double to account for the final score.
FItzgerald and Wampler each had three hits. Matias, Roth and Conforti had two hits apiece.
Carson Johnson picked up the victory after allowing two hits and three earned runs over four innings. He struck out six. Hayden Kingsbury got the save with three scoreless innings of relief.
In the first game of the day Friday, St. Ambrose spotted No. 12 Kansas Wesleyan a 6-0 lead before falling 8-4.
The Coyotes, who fell to the Bees 8-5 on Thursday, scored three runs in the first inning Friday and added single runs in the second, third and fourth frames.
Quinn Flanagan, Pauley and Matias each drove in a run to cut the deficit in half in the fifth. And, an inning later, Bryce Vorwald scored on a wild pitch to pull St. Ambrose to within 6-4. But KWU scored twice in the bottom of the eighth and held on for the win.
Flanagan collected three hits.
Sergio Marchizza was tagged with the loss. Nathaniel Johnson allowed just one run over four innings before Joe Evans recorded the final three outs.
SAU is scheduled to travel to Milligan, Tenn., to play a four-game series at Milligan next Friday and Saturday.