Baseball
The University of Rhode Island baseball team (11-14) won two of its three game home series at Bill Beck Field against Virginia Commonwealth University (21-12) last weekend, winning on Friday, 5-1 and 7-3 on Saturday before losing 7-3 on Sunday.
In Rhode Island’s first game of the series last Friday, it dominated early on, scoring a run or more in the first three innings breaking out to a 4-0 lead against one of the Atlantic-10’s top teams. Redshirt junior Mike Corin hit his third home run of the season just over the left field wall in the bottom of the second inning, extending the lead to 2-0. Two singles by the Rams were responsible for scoring the other three early runs.
In the top of the fifth inning, Rhode Island sophomore Tyler Wilson (5-1) let up his team’s lone run off of a solo home run by VCU’s Walker Haymaker. In Wilson’s team-high fifth win he pitched seven innings, striking out six batters and allowing five hits. URI scored its fifth run of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning when Chris Hess scored on a passed ball.
URI secured back-to-back wins to defeat its conference foe in an important series for the Rams when they won 7-3 Saturday afternoon. Rhode Island was trailing VCU in the bottom of the third inning when junior third baseman Martin Figueroa launched a three-run home run, his third on the season, giving the Rams their first lead of the game at 4-3.
Rhode Island would go on to stretch its lead by scoring one run apiece during innings four, five and seven to win their second game of the weekend. Steve Moyers (2-4) picked up the win in eight innings of work, allowing two earned runs and six hits, while striking out five.
VCU avoided the sweep on Sunday by beating Rhode Island in 10 innings by the same score, they lost to on Saturday 7-3. The final score does not define how close Rhode Island came to pulling off the weekend conference sweep.
Tied 3-3 in the top of the 10th inning, URI allowed VCU to hold on to its momentum with the bases loaded off of three singles with two outs, a controversial hit-by-pitch was called to bring in the first of four game-clinching runs.
VCU’s Zach Ching followed the controversial run with his first hit of the day – a three-run triple to the right field warning track. Rhode Island was held scoreless in the bottom of the 10th inning. Tyler Barss (0-2) was handed the loss pitching just over two innings allowing five hits and four earned runs while striking out one.
URI will visit the College of the Holy Cross on Wednesday and Brown University on Thursday before a three-game series at Fordham University this upcoming weekend.