2012 A-10 Baseball Tournament: Saint Louis Billikens Lose Atlantic 10 Opener

The University of Richmond upset the Saint Louis Billikens Thursday in the Atlantic-10 Baseball Tournament, using a shutout from big freshman Zak Sterling to defeat SLU in their opening game by a final score of 6-0. Richmond, just 29-24, delivered a toughblow to the 40-17 Billikens' tournament ambitions, after a rain delay of nearly four hours postponed play in the Bronx.

Saint Louis gets one advantage from the rainout, however: They'll be playing the winner of a the game that was rained out by that postponement, meaning they'll take part in the second half of an ersatz doubleheader as they attempt to make their way out of a surprise trip to the loser's bracket.

The Billikens were the No. 1 seed in the tournament, and received a first-round bye. If you're interested in seeing how they got this far, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch did a great profile about them fulfilling their promise as a baseball team right before they failed to fulfill their promise as a baseball team in the kind of unfortunate misfire that just happens in a game as unpredictable as baseball.