March 16, 2008

Saturday | Sunday Game 1 | Sunday Game 2

MEMPHIS--The Christian Brothers University Bucs rolled to a three-game sweep this weekend over Arkansas-Monticello in their first weekend of Gulf South Conference West Division play.

The Bucs (11-12, 3-0 GSC West) won 15-6 Saturday, then won 6-4 and 21-3 on Sunday afternoon.

In the series opener Saturday afternoon, the Bucs trailed 5-2 in the third inning before the offense broke out. Freshman Caleb Burrow (Bartlett, Tenn./Bartlett HS) kick-started what would become a big weekend for the Bucs' offense when he hit a leadoff homer in the bottom of the fourth. The Bucs pushed three runs across in the inning, then Bobby Lawrence (Germantown, Tenn./St. Benedict HS) hit a two-run homer an inning later to help the Bucs post another three-spot on the board, giving the Bucs a 9-5 lead.

Good things continued to come in threes for the Bucs Saturday, as they scored three runs each in the seventh and eighth to pull away for the 15-6 margin. Senior shortstop Mark Foster (Cordova, Tenn./Cordova HS) led the CBU offense by going 4-for-6 with three runs. Andrew Griffy (Arlington, Tenn./Bolton HS) and Josh Shelton (Rosemark, Tenn./Christian Brothers HS) also scored three runs each.

Sophomore first baseman Joseph Kaminski (Sherwood, Ark./Little Rock Catholic HS) launched a two-run homer in the fifth inning to break what had been a 3-3 tie in Sunday's first game. The Boll Weevils (0-20, 0-3) scored a run in the seventh and had the bases loaded with two out, but CBU freshman Ben Chism (Nesbit, Miss./DeSoto Central HS) came in and forced an infield popup to put out the fire.

Chism retired seven of the eight batters he faced for his first save, and Shelton blasted a towering leadoff homer to center in the eighth to give CBU an insurance run.

Shelton and Kaminski had two hits each to lead the Bucs, and they combined for all five CBU RBI's for the game, after each had an RBI groundout in the third.

In the final game Sunday afternoon, the Bucs used three-run homers from Shelton and Kaminski in the first two innings to open a commanding 7-1 lead, then they put it well out of reach with an 11-run fourth inning. The Bucs' first 13 batters reached base safely in the fourth, with 17 reaching in all.

Shelton scored four runs for the Bucs, while Rocky Escajadillo (Cordova, Tenn./Cordova HS) went 4-for-5. Griffy and Ryan McCabe (Richmond, Texas/Terry HS) each added three hits.

The Bucs will be back in action Thursday as they host Illinois Wesleyan at 2 p.m. CBU will have a GSC West series with Delta State Friday and Saturday, with the series moved up a day because of Easter.