The University of Rhode Island baseball team dropped four games this week, taking three losses against the University of New Mexico over the weekend before blowing a lead in the ninth inning to Sacred Heart University on Tuesday.
Rhode Island headed west to Albuquerque, New Mexico for a four-game series against the Lobos. The high elevation helped both teams; game one saw a combined six home runs as URI won 14-13 to stay undefeated in series openers.
Fourth-year captain Anthony DePino contributed two homers, going 3-6 at the plate with 5 RBIs. Second-year closer Joe Sabbath entered the game in the eighth inning with a runner in scoring position. After Sabbath escaped the jam, second-year infielder Scott Penney delivered a two-run single to take the lead. Sabbath returned for the ninth, finishing the five-out appearance.
“The weekend was awesome,” DePino said. “It would have been better to go get some wins down there, but obviously offensively, it was an amazing weekend.”
Game two of the series was another closely contested game, though the Rams came up just short in a 15-14 loss. DePino led off the game with a homer, but it was sixth-year DJ Perron’s turn for a two-home-run game.
New Mexico scored five in the sixth inning, as first-year pitcher Parker Aikens inherited a two-out bases loaded jam and walked his first batter before giving up a grand slam to fourth-year Ethan Ott.
Perron’s second homer came in the top of the eighth to get Rhode Island within one. The game ended with Penney as the tying run left stranded 90 feet away.
DePino continued his big weekend in the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader, slugging another two home runs. He drove in all four of the Rams’ runs, but it wasn’t enough to get past the Lobos’ eight.
“It’s just a lot of hard work,” DePino said. “Over the summer there was a lot of dedication to being the best hitter I could be going into my last year.”
Rhode Island finished the weekend with its third one-run game of the series. Trailing 7-1 after the third, the Rams clawed back to tie the game in the sixth with DePino’s sixth home run of the weekend. URI never led in the game and took a 10-9 loss, once again leaving the tying run on third base.
“We did some work in the barn with [URI Assistant] Coach Heiss [after struggling with early counts against Oregon], and he got me right with my approach,” DePino said. “Everything kind of clicked at the same time.”
URI returned home for the first time this season on Tuesday to take on Sacred Heart. After leading 4-1 since the second inning, second-year reliever AJ Jones allowed four runs in the ninth inning as the Rams fell 5-4 for their fourth straight loss.
“It’s good to be home,” Cerrato said. “Not a good performance today, but it’s just nice to be on our field.”
Another leadoff home run for DePino got the Rams going on offense, and fifth-year Nic Notarangelo continued the momentum with a two-run triple in the second inning. Second-year Reece Moroney got Rhode Island’s fourth run with another triple in the next at bat.
“[DePino’s] a tough guy to face to start the game,” Cerrato said. “He’s just super dangerous, and it puts significant pressure on the opposing pitcher right from the get-go.”
Pitching took over from that point on with six scoreless innings. First-year Rams pitcher Jake Cullen came in relief and threw three innings, striking out seven.
URI was held scoreless after the second and went down in order four times on offense.
“This is probably the most disappointing game of the entire season,” Cerrato said. “We just had a bad approach and did a terrible job.”
After the big week at the plate, DePino earned Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honors and sits tied for second in Division I for home runs. He already holds the program record for long balls, and is well on pace to surpass his career-high of 16 home runs in a season.
“I’ve pretty much done all I want to do as a baseball player for URI except win an A-10 championship,” DePino said. “I want to be able to hoist the trophy with my buddies and be able to win a championship.”
Cerrato has a short and simple goal for his team entering the weekend against a winless Eastern Kentucky University.
“Throw strikes,” Cerrato said.
The pitching staff has allowed nearly as many free passes as hits this season, with 122 hits allowed and 112 walks/hit-by-pitches.
Rhode Island’s three-game weekend series at EKU is its last series before conference play, with only Friday’s game streaming on ESPN+.
