RICHMOND, Va. — The Holy Cross baseball team took down Richmond in a back-and-forth battle, earning a 9-7 victory over the Spiders on Sunday, March 13.

STATS LEADERS:
Holy Cross:
Cooney (3-for-4, double, run scored, four RBI, stolen base)
Casserly (2-for-5, two runs scored)
Petrushka (2-for-2, double, two runs scored, stolen base)
Escoto (W, 2.0 IP, no runs, one hit, one strikeout)
Remley (S, 2.0 IP, no runs, no hits, one strikeout)

Richmond:
Papantonis (3-for-4, double, home run, two runs scored, three RBI)
Beal (2-for-4, double, run scored, RBI)
Toso (2-for-5, run scored, RBI)

W: Escoto (1-1)
L: Armson (0-1)
S: Remley (1)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• After senior catcher Angelo D'Acunto drew a walk and sophomore left fielder Patrick Casserly singled to lead off the second, freshman center fielder Connor Cooney drove in the first run of the game with an RBI single to right field. Freshman third baseman Nick Wang followed with a sac fly to score Casserly and give the Crusaders a 2-0 lead.
• Richmond immediately responded with a four-run frame in the bottom of the second to take a 4-2 advantage.
• The Crusaders exploded for five runs in the top of the fifth. Wang drew a one-out walk, and junior designated hitter Jordan Petrushka doubled just inside the left-field line to put runners on second and third. Senior first baseman Nate Wolf then sharply hit a ball just out of the reach of Richmond first baseman Jake Elbeery, scoring two runs and tying up the game at 4-4.
• Freshman second baseman Brendan Jones followed with a walk and Casserly singled to load up the bases in the fifth. Cooney then hit a bases-clearing double, putting the Crusaders up 7-4.
• However, Richmond quickly evened up the contest in the bottom half of the inning, using a three-run homer to make it a 7-7 game.
• Petrushka drew a two-out walk in the top of the sixth, and moved to third after an error; he then scored after a wild pitch, giving the Crusaders an 8-7 edge. Holy Cross would tack on another run in the top of the ninth, with Cooney scoring on a wild pitch.
• Senior right-hander Nick Escoto and sophomore righty Matt Remley combined to throw four scoreless innings to close out the contest. With a runner on and one out in the bottom of the ninth, the Crusaders turned a 6-4-3 double play to dash the Spiders' walkoff hopes. 

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

• Cooney is the first Crusader this season to record four RBI in a single game. He has driven in eight runs on the season, ranking tied for second on the team.
• Casserly's 2-for-5 day marked the first multi-hit game of his career.

DUE UP:

• Holy Cross returns to Massachusetts to face Boston College on Tuesday, March 15.
• First pitch is set for 4 p.m. in Brighton.