Pitching led the way for Rhody in the team’s first series of the season at Bill Beck Field Photo by Greg Clark.
The University of Rhode Island Baseball team boosted its overall record to 5-5 this weekend after sweeping the University of Massachusetts Lowell in the Rams home opener.
After topping the River Hawks 3-1 on Saturday, Rhody continued to add to the win column, taking both games of Sunday’s doubleheader by scores of 4-0 and 5-2.
In Saturday’s matchup, junior Ryan Twitchell shined on the mound for Rhode Island. He threw eight innings and allowed one run in five hits to earn his first win of the season.
The Rhody lineup supported its starting pitcher by scoring three runs in the fifth inning. Redshirt senior Max Mircovich got things started by getting hit by a pitch, and junior Austin White followed with a single. Both base runners advanced on a wild pitch, and redshirt senior Josh Brodeur singled to left to score Mircovich for URI’s first run.
Sophomore Jordan Laske singled to score White and take the lead. After an RBI groundout by junior Xavier Vargas, the Rams had all the runs they needed to take game one of the series.
In the first game on Sunday, redshirt senior Mike Webb led Rhode Island’s defense by pitching a complete game and allowing just two hits for his first season victory. The Rams quickly provided run support in the first inning with an RBI single from Vargas, who later added two more runs in the fifth with another single.
Pertaining to Vargas, Rhode Island Head Coach Raphael Cerrato said the first baseman has had a lot of success and has continued to get better every season. Coach Cerrato said that Vargas, now in his fourth year as a Ram, does not shy away from situations and “always wants to be up in a big spot.”
“The bigger the spot, the more calm [Vargas] is,” Coach Cerrato said. “He is able to capitalize on mistakes from the pitcher and get a good swing on the ball. It’s important to have that guy you can count on.”
Game two of the doubleheader saw a three-run eighth inning for Rhode Island that completed the series sweep and secured URI’s second consecutive series win. White started the inning with a walk, stole second base and later scored when Mircovich singled down the right field line. Redshirt senior Sonny Ulliana delivered a big hit with a long, two-run double towards right center to provide URI some insurance runs. In the ninth, freshman Broc French took the mound and got the final three outs to earn his first career save.
In regard to Rhode Island’s offensive production, Coach Cerrato said the Rams have had “timely” hitting, but he knows there is still room to improve.
“We still need to get a lot better offensively and string together better at-bats as we move forward, and I know we’re capable of doing it,” he said. “We still need to get significantly better offensively if we want to have a chance to win a championship and go to regionals and do real damage, which are all our expectations. We need to continually improve.”
Next up for Rhode Island is a two-game series at home against in-state rivals Bryant University on March 13 and 14 at Bill Beck Field in Kingston.