The University of Rhode Island baseball team extended its winning streak to five games following a weekend series sweep of Virginia Commonwealth University and a victory over Quinnipiac University on Wednesday.
The series opened on Friday afternoon, where both teams carried no-hit bids into the fourth inning. VCU second-year Jacob Lee broke up third-year Joe Sabbath’s no-hit bid with a single in the fourth inning, but VCU’s next three batters all grounded or lined out to keep the game scoreless.
In the next half-inning, four straight URI batters reached base, with fourth-year Nicholas Toro ending the scoreless tie with an RBI double. The Rams were unable to tack on any more runs in the inning despite having the bases loaded, as first-year Paul Calandrelli grounded out.
VCU quickly responded with a single from fourth-year Quinn Maher to tie the game at 1-1 in the fifth inning. Rhody quickly regained its lead in the following half-inning when Toro’s groundout brought in third-year Reece Moroney for the 2-1 lead.
The Rams tacked on three runs following a Toro sacrifice fly in the seventh and a Moroney two-run double in the eighth to earn a 5-1 victory in the series opener.
The two teams agreed to switch the series schedule from one game on Saturday and one game on Sunday to a doubleheader on Saturday, after inclement weather was expected to pass through on Sunday.
In the first game, VCU was held to zero hits through the first five innings by second-year Jake Cullen. Cullen finished the game with zero hits allowed, four strikeouts and two walks on 71 pitches in five innings.
It was Rhody who once again broke the scoreless tie after fourth-year Ryan Henschel singled in the bottom of the fifth. In the following inning, URI put up three runs off of back-to-back home runs from Toro and fifth-year Ryan King.
VCU broke up Rhody’s no-hit bid after Lee hit a double off of third-year AJ Jones in the top of the sixth. VCU’s scoreless drought ended after a pitch from second-year Manny Santos hit Lee with the bases loaded.
VCU put another run on the board in the top of the ninth after an RBI double play brought the score to 4-2, but the comeback attempt came up short after third-year Michael Petite grounded out to third in the next at-bat.
With the series clinched, Rhody looked for the sweep in the second game of the doubleheader.
VCU got the scoring started in the first with an RBI single from third-year Nate Kirkpatrick for a 1-0 lead. URI responded two innings later to take the lead with a sacrifice fly and a two-run double for a three-run third.
VCU tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the fifth with a two-run single from Kirkpatrick, but Rhody reclaimed its lead in the bottom of the inning with its own two-run single from Toro.
Petite’s homer cut the lead to just one in the seventh, and in the top of the ninth, third-year Trent Adelman’s single tied the game at 5-5 to send the game into extras.
VCU went three-up, three-down in the 10th and gave Rhody a chance to walk it off. A Toro walk put the winning run on the bases. Second-year Ryan Thompson came up to the plate with two outs and a man on first.
Two pitches later, Thompson drove one to deep left field and watched it clear the fences for a walk-off two-run home run and the 7-5 extra-inning victory for the series sweep.
“It was a pretty electric moment, one that I won’t forget,” Thompson said. “But one sweep, got to keep going and get many more.”
The Rams continued their seven-game homestand with a midweek matchup against Quinnipiac, whom they had previously defeated 17-5 on March 24.
The Rams took an early 2-0 lead in the first as they scored on a wild pitch and an RBI groundout. The floodgates opened up in the third as Rhody put together a seven-run inning that started with Moroney’s second home run of the season.
Eight URI pitchers combined to hold Quinnipiac to five hits and two runs, both in the ninth inning, for the 9-2 victory and a fifth consecutive win.
“You’ve got to be resilient, and I think we’ve got some tough kids,” head coach Raphael Cerrato said. “Give credit to the guys that every day just keep coming out here, working on your game and eventually it’s gonna turn.”
The Rams complete their seven-game homestand with a three-game weekend series against La Salle University. The first game is on Friday at 3 p.m. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+ with a listening option on RIU2.org.
