Feb. 26, 2005

Box Score

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The University of Rhode Island baseball team showed no signs of first-game jitters as the Rams had No. 12 ranked Florida on the ropes, before coming up short 5-4 Friday.

The Rams, who had practiced outside as a team just three times in the preseason, didn't let the No. 12 ranked Gators, who had eight games under their belts, take the lead until the sixth inning. Rhode Island had the tying run on base in the ninth inning even after senior Joe Viscuso (Farmingdale, N.Y.) had a line drive in the gap robbed by Florida's Brian Leclerc to lead off the inning. Florida's Connor Falkenbach closed out the game for his first save of the season.

"This was certainly the best start to a season that we've had in quite some time," Rhode Island head coach Frank Leoni said. "We matched one of the super powers of college baseball pitch-for-pitch and play-for-play, that's a true testament to our players."

How does a baseball team that has been practicing almost exclusively in a gymnasium since October nearly knock off a team from the Sunshine State that is in the midst of a 21-game homestand.

"We just practice the fundamentals, the footwork is the same indoors, the hitting is the same indoors, the pitching is the same indoors," Leoni said. "There's no question what we just did tonight is not easy to do, but if the guys believe in our system and stay focused every day, then we can make an easy transition from the gymnasium to the baseball field."

Florida head coach Pat McMahon wasn't surprised with Rhode Island, but he came away very impressed with the Rams. "A lot of reports out there have Rhode Island as probably the best team in the Northeast and they sure played like it tonight," McMahon said. "They had a senior pitcher on the mound who gave us trouble and their bullpen gave us some difficult match ups."

"Pitching and defense we're the key for us," said Leoni, whose team did not commit and error. "We played a really solid defensive game and our pitchers were great, they might have made one or two bad pitches all game. We were ready to take this game, we took it right to them and we thought we had it. We're just going to have to stay within ourselves Saturday and give it another shot."

Rhode Island starter Dan Frederick (Dracut, Mass.) was the hard-luck loser holding the No. 12 ranked Gators to just three hits and two runs through the first five innings. Frederick struck out three, the first of which tied the school's career strikeout leader, Dan Pearce, with 168. Frederick's second strikeout, to end the fourth inning, gave him the school record with 169 and he added one other to finish the night with 170 on his career.

Florida's Alan Horne earned the win, going six innings, allowing three runs and striking out six.

Rhode Island and Florida each had nine hits in the game with four Rhode Island players recording multi-hit games. Junior Daryl Holcomb (Wilmington, Del.), junior Wayne Russo (Warwick, R.I.), senior Mike Rainville (Pawtucket, R.I.) and junior Josh Nestor (Nashua, N.H.) each had two hits apiece.

With Rhode Island holding a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning, Brian Jerolman led off with a single and Frederick issued a walk to Barber before being removed. Both Jerolman and Barber would score on a clutch two-out double by Stephen Barton, leaving Frederick charged with four runs in five innings. He walked five and struck out three, the second of which broke the Rhode Island school record for career strikeouts. He now has 170 K's on his career.

"Frederick was outstanding and he didn't have his best stuff being his first time out," Leoni said.

Florida added an insurance run later in the sixth on a RBI single by Matt LaPorta which proved to be the game-winning hit. Rhode Island cut the gap to one run when Rainville doubled with two outs in the eighth and Nestor followed with a RBI-single. Frederick pitched his way out of a bases loaded jam in the second inning and then the Rams were able to take an early lead on the Gators, who had taken two of three games from then No. 2 Miami last week. Holcomb drew a one-out walk and Russo followed with a single up the middle to move Holcomb to second. Sophomore Scott Brown (Portland, Maine) gave the Rams the early lead when he singled up the middle to score Holcomb.

Florida came right back to tie the game in the bottom of the third, when the Gators used a single, walk and suicide squeeze to knot the game at 1-1. The Rams regained the lead in the fifth when Viscuso drew a lead-off walk, stole second and advanced to third when Russo reached on an error. Russo stole second and junior Matt Sullivan (Nashua, N.H.) drew a walk to load the bases, setting up Russo to score on a passed ball for a 2-1 Rhody lead.

Once again the Gators were quick to respond, tying the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the fifth, resorting to a running game with three steals in the inning, and pushing the tying run across on a sacrifice fly by Leclerc. This time the Rams responded with a run in the top of the sixth, when Rainville singled to left field, stole second, advanced to third on an error and scored on a freak play with freshman Shaun Hagey (Ephrata, Pa.) at the plate. Hagey laced what appeared to be his first collegiate hit into right field, scoring Rainville from third, but Hagey was injured in the batter's box, couldn't run to first and had to be taken off the field. While he did get credit for the RBI, he was not credited with a single.

The back-and-forth game continued in the bottom of the inning when the Gators put the first two runners on against Frederick and Leoni went to the bullpen. Florida would score three runs in the sixth and the Gators would need every one of them to hold off Rhode Island.

Sophomore Adam Perkins (Hudson, N.H.) pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief, allowing two hits and striking out one. "Perkins did a great job coming out of the bullpen," Leoni said. "That's the best I've seen him pitch."

Rhode Island will send 2004 third-team All-American and Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year Zack Zuercher (Warwick, R.I.) out to the mound for his first start of the season on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. The game can be followed here at GoRhody.com by internet audio broadcast and live stats.

"We are going to see one of the best pitchers in the country on Saturday, it will be interesting to see how our guys will respond," Florida's McMahon said.