April 13, 2005
Box Score
FAIRFIELD, Conn. - Sophomore Ryan Cunningham (Centreville, Va.) went 4-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored as he extended his hitting streak to a school-record 18 games in the University of Rhode Island baseball team's 21-1 win over Fairfield on Wednesday at Alumni Diamond.
Rhode Island used a six-run second inning and a 12-run eighth as the Ram won their fifth-straight game and pulled within one game of .500 overall at 13-14. The Rams lead the Atlantic 10 East Division with a 7-2 conference record heading into this weekend's three-game series at Temple.
Cunningham passed senior teammate Matt Sullivan (Nashua, N.H.), who had a 17-game hitting streak that was snapped on April 4 at Dayton. Cunningham has hit safely in every game since going 0-for-4 in the first game of a doubleheader against Miami (Ohio) on March 18.
In the last four games, Cunningham has an incredible 14 hits and 10 RBIs, going 14-for-18 (.777). During his 18-game hitting streak, Cunningham is 33-for-72, hitting .458 with 22 RBIs, six doubles and three home runs. On the season, Cunningham is now hitting .406 with a team-high 27 RBIs.
Cunningham is not the only Rhode Island player putting up big numbers. The Rams slugged a season-high 26 hits to score a season-high 21 runs, the most in a game since Rhody defeated Fordham 28-8 on April 28, 2003.
"Our pitchers are really executing and we're hitting the heck out of the ball," Rhode Island head coach Frank Leoni said. "We're getting a lot of two-strike hits, and we're playing good defense. The way baseball is, it's very contagious. Things start going well in one aspect of the game, you get a little momentum, and everything starts going well. We have to keep this in perspective, but things are definitely going well."
As a team, the Rams have outscored their opponents 68-7 over the last five games, scoring an average of 13.5 runs per game. Rhody has 81 hits over the five-game stretch for an average of 16.3 per game and the team batting average is .424 over the last five contests.
Sophomore Dave Savard (Nashua, N.H.) tied a career-high with four hits Wednesday, including his first collegiate home run. Savard also drove in a career-high four runs and scored four times. Senior Daryl Holcomb (Wilmington, Del.) had four hits and two RBIs as he raised his average to .386. Freshman Shaun Hagey (Ephrata, Pa.) had three hits, two runs scored and a RBI.
Freshman CJ Simons (Wyoming, R.I.) went 2-for-2 with three RBIs and a run scored to raise his team-leading batting average to .464 (13-for-28). Senior Mike Rainville (Pawtucket, R.I.), junior Josh Nestor (Nashua, N.H.) and sophomore Scott Brown (Portland, Maine) each had two hits for the Rams.
In the shadow of the high-scoring offense, the Rhode Island pitching staff held Fairfield to seven hits and just one run on the day. Sophomore James Norcott (Norton, Mass.) earned the win, pitching six shutout innings and allowing only three hits and one walk, while striking out three. Senior Mike Harris (Old Bethpage, N.Y.) and junior Tom Venedam (Suffern, N.Y.) each pitched a scoreless inning of relief.
"The pitchers are throwing strikes and getting ahead of hitters," Leoni said. "It obviously helps that we're scoring a lot of runs, it's giving the pitchers more confidence, so they're attacking the strike zone more. It all goes hand in hand."
Over the five-game stretch when the offense has been putting up unbelievable numbers, the pitching staff has been holding the opposing team to very little output. Rhody hurlers have allowed just 21 hits and seven runs in the last 41 innings, while striking out 49. The Rams' pitching staff is holding opposing hitters to a .144 batting average in the last five games.
"Both our hitting and pitching are coming on strong," Leoni said. "This is what we thought we could be like at the beginning of the year. We have a long way to go, our biggest tests are ahead of us."
