April 12, 2005
Box Score
KINGSTON, R.I. -
The University of Rhode Island baseball team had an 18-year stretch without pitching a no-hitter snapped in 2002. Now the current Rams' roster has supplied three no-hitters in the last four seasons.
In about as dominating a pitching performance as there can be, Rhode Island sophomore Adam Perkins (Hudson, N.H.) pitched a no-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts as the Rams defeated Iona 14-0 Tuesday at Bill Beck Field.
There was no need for any spectacular plays as Perkins pitched all nine innings, facing only three batters over the minimum with two walks. His 12 strikeouts are a career-high as Perkins improved to a team-best 5-1 on the season and lowered his ERA to 2.95.
The left-hander was perfect through the first three innings, but the lead-off batter in the fourth reached on a blatant error. After retiring the next three batters, Perkins walked the lead-off hitter in the fifth, but erased him on a fielder's choice groundout for the first of 13-straight outs.
Perkins walked his second batter of the game with one out in the ninth inning, but got a fly ball to right field and then struck out the next batter swinging to finish off the no-hitter.
"I felt good out there, all the hard work in the off-season is paying off, this is the easy part," said Perkins, who threw two no-hitters in high school. "I had a lot of movement on my fastball and I was hitting my spots. Coach (Jim) Foster called a good game."
"Adam Perkins has been throwing the ball very well all season," Rhode Island head coach Frank Leoni said. "Today was the apex of performance for him. He commanded the strike zone from the beginning to the end."
All three of the no-hitters in the last four years have been pitched by left-handers and this was the first of the three to be thrown at Bill Beck Field. Current senior Mike Harris (Old Bethpage, N.Y.) no-hit Sacred Heart on March 28, 2002 in Fairfield, Conn. and current junior Zack Zuercher (Warwick, R.I.) pitched a no-hitter against St. Bonaventure on April 24, 2004 in Olean, N.Y.
The Rams supplied plenty of offense behind Perkins, belting out 15 hits and scoring 14 runs, all in the first five innings. The Rams score a run in the first inning, and then pushed across five in the second inning for a 6-0 lead. Rhody tacked on a run in the third and scored three runs in the fourth and four in the fifth to take a 14-0 lead.
Rhode Island (12-14, 7-2 Atlantic 10) has now scored 47 runs and had 54 hits in the last four games, all lopsided victories. The Rams are hitting .404 as a team over the last four contests, which included a three-game sweep of Atlantic 10 West leader Richmond.
"I was very pleased that our bats stayed hot on such a difficult day to hit at the Beck," Leoni said. "We continue to get contributions from a lot of different people."
Sophomore Ryan Cunningham (Centreville, Va.) was a perfect 3-for-3 with two doubles and three RBIs to extend his hitting streak to 17 games, which ties the school-record. Cunningham shares the record with senior teammate Matt Sullivan (Nashua, N.H.), who had his 17-game hitting streak snapped last Monday at Dayton.
Freshman CJ Simons (Wyoming, R.I.) was a perfect 3-for-3 with a double and two RBIs, while sophomore Wayne Russo (Warwick, R.I.) went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Senior Chris Stelma (Glenwood, N.J.) went 2-for-2 with a home run, double, two RBIs and two runs scored. Sophomore Scott Brown (Portland, Maine) had two hits, including a double, and two RBIs.
Almost lost in all of the offensive fireworks are four extremely solid pitching performances from the Rams' starting rotation. In the last four games the starting pitchers have pitched 31 a possible 32 innings, allowing just 14 hits and six runs, while striking out 40 and walking only seven. The four starters, senior Dan Frederick (Dracut, Mass.), sophomore Steve Holmes (Lincoln, R.I.), Zuercher and Perkins have combined for a 1.74 ERA over the four games.
Holmes was the only one of the four without a complete-game, but that was because senior closer Mick Lefort (Lincoln, R.I.) hadn't been needed in the three game rout of Richmond, so he came on to pitch one perfect inning of relief in the last inning of the series' finale Sunday.
The Rams return to action on Wednesday at Fairfield at 3:30 p.m.
