Calvin McCall hit his first career home run and recorded three RBI’s in Sunday’s loss. PHOTO CREDIT: gorhody.com
The University of Rhode Island baseball team played against the University of Washington, winning one of the games in this past weekend’s three game-series in Seattle, Washington.
During Friday’s game, both teams made it on the scoreboard in the first inning. Fourth-year outfield player Mark Coley scored first for the Rams, followed by the Washington Huskies taking a 2-1 lead in the bottom of third. Second-year Eric Genther contributed an RBI double leading second year infielder Anthony Depino to a two-home runner, which helped bring the Rams back on top. The Huskies were the only ones to score in the fifth inning, but didn’t make another run for the rest of the game. Towards the end of the game, during the eighth inning, second year catcher Rob Butler and Coley added back to back homeruns. The Rams stepped off the field from Friday night with a 9-6 game win.
First year infield player Connor Grotyohann explained that the team felt confident going into the first game of the weekend. The University of Washington is the fifth team Rhody has played against this season, and Grotyohann explained how far the team has come since their first game.
“From the first game to now we are just better all around, we have improved both defensively and offensively,” Grotyohann said. “We are more of a team instead of just playing as individuals.”
The University of Washington was already 12-3 for the season heading into the weekend’s games. Grotyohann also mentioned that the team used that factor as a motivational tool to play better.
Saturday’s evening game started off in similar fashion to Friday’s game. Both teams made it onto the scoreboard during the first inning. Coley was the first to make a home run for the Rams. Towards the end of the game the first-year first baseman came close to a home run, but the ball was caught to close out the game. The Huskies took the lead for the majority of Saturday’s game and they ended the game doubling the Rams score with a 12-6 win for Washington.
As athletes, these players are used to the hectic schedules that come with playing the sport they love. Grotyohann emphasized that as baseball players, he and his teammates have been used to long weekends full of back to back games since middle school. With all those years of playing the sport, they have gotten in the rhythm of a specific schedule.
“Playing back to back games has its challenges,” Grotyohann said. “We just make sure that we eat well and get good sleep.”
In the third and final game on Sunday, the home team held the lead for the game, scoring 15 points by the end of the sixth inning. In the ninth inning, third-year outfielder Calvin McCall made the first home run of his college career, scoring three runners to make it a 15-4 game. While Grotyohann was up to pitch, he pitched a scoreless inning while successfully striking out two of the batters. Rhody ended the game with five points, trailing 10 points behind Washington. This resulted in a 15-5 game win for the Huskies, closing out the weekend for the Rams with one win under their belts and Huskies walking away with two wins.
Next up, the Rams will go up against Marist College in a three-game series for their home opener of the season at Bill Beck Field. First pitch for game one is on Friday, March 24th at 3 p.m., followed by a 1 p.m. game on Saturday and finishing off the weekend with the team’s third game at noon on Sunday.