Saint Leo, Fla. (March 1, 2008) – The Saint Leo University baseball (11-6) team split a doubleheader with the Saint Anselm College (1-1) Saturday afternoon at Southard Stadium. The Lions suffered an 8-7 setback in game one, but rallied in game number two for a 13-0 seven-inning victory.

Saint Leo junior leftfielder T.J. Alonzo (Tampa, Fla.) went a combined 2-for-9 with five RBI, a home run, a double and five runs scored.  Yunior Tabares (Sr., Tampa, Fla.) was a combined 3-for-6 with four RBI, while Jonathan Duncan (Jr., Starke, Fla.) also registered four RBI on the afternoon.  Duncan stretched his hitting streak to 11 games, hitting safely in both of Saturday’s contests.  Braulio Pardo (Jr., Land O’Lakes, Fla.) also stretched his hitting streak to 10 games with a hit in the opener.

The Lions offense got off to a sluggish start, as St. Anselm game one starting pitcher Nick Barese went 6.1 innings, giving up only one run on three hits.  Meanwhile, Saint Leo starter Ryan Clark (Sr., Tampa, Fla.) surrendered five runs on eight hits 6.0 innings of work.

The Lions did their best to mount a comeback in game one, scoring six of their seven runs in the eight and ninth innings. Tabares hit a three-run home run in the eighth inning to pull the Lions to within four runs. Saint Leo had the tying at third and the game-winning run at second in the ninth, but Saint Anselm turned a game-ending double play to win the opener.

Saint Leo carried its late momentum from game one into the nightcap, pounding out 12 hits en route to the 13-0 shutout.  Saint Leo scored five runs in the first inning highlighted by a three-run home run by Alonzo and a two-run blast from Dale Slimick (Jr. Sarasota, Fla.).  Duncan added to the hit parade, as he hit a three-run home run to left field in the bottom of the fourth inning to cap the Lions second five-run inning of the game.

Saint Leo also received a strong start from game two pitcher Rodney Miller (Sr., Binghamton, N.Y.) who went 6.0 innings, scattering five hits and not surrendering a run.

The Lions will hit the diamond again tomorrow, as they take on Merrimack College in another non-conference doubleheader.  Game on first pitch is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.