Positives:
- The Rhode Island men’s baseball team winning two of three this past weekend was a solid turnaround after getting beaten down in their Friday game against Indiana State. The two games they won came against Davidson and at Campbell. The impressive feat, though, was that they doubled up their opponents with a 20-10 advantage. The Rhody offense has been pretty good thus far, averaging a tick over five runs per game, but their pitching needs to get figured out if they want more success.
- The Rhody men’s basketball’s returning roster next season should give this team another go around at winning the Atlantic 10 Championship. Assuming the whole cast is back and healthy, and there is no reason to assume otherwise, this team should be in the Big Dance next year. The blessing in disguise in this whole thing is the injuries to Matthews and Martin opened the door for Jared Terrell and Jarvis Garrett to become one of the best backcourts in the A-10 and they will only be juniors next year.
Negatives:
- The season-ending loss against UMass for the URI men’s basketball team ends the year with most fans feeling disappointment after what was expected going into this season. No one expected Rhody to win the Atlantic 10 tournament, but a win against UMass was expected even without Martin and Matthews. This was a trying year for all involved with the program that experienced one setback after another, but still had some positives come out of this season. Unfortunately it ended earlier than everyone expected and hoped.
- Rhody women’s softball had a tough weekend as the two wins on the schedule did not tell the whole story. Despite winning two of the five games, they got beaten down in those three losses. In the two wins, Rhode Island won with a combined score of 10-3, but in the three losses they were outscored 24-6.
Players of the Week:
Martin Figueroa (7-6 win @ Campbell) – Figueroa provided a ton of offense against Campbell, going 5-for-5 with two runs scored, four runs batted in, a double and a home run.
Earl Watson (67-62 loss vs UMass) – In the senior’s final game he responded with the best night of his short two-year Rhody career, posting a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds.
Team of the Week: URI men’s baseball (Campbell Invitational) – The baseball team won two of three games in its weekend invitational by providing a ton of offense in its two wins.
Off the Record: Â The Celtics recent 14-game home winning streak was longer than any home streak during the Big Three Era. The longest then was 13 games. Celtics also have the third-best record in the NBA since Jan. 21 at 17-5.