April 23, 2005

Box Score

KINGSTON, R.I. - The University of Rhode Island baseball team defeated St. Bonaventure 14-4 Saturday in a rematch of the 2004 Atlantic 10 finals. The second game of Saturday's doubleheader was postponed due to rain and will be played Sunday at 10:00 a.m. as the first game of a doubleheader.

The Atlantic 10 East Division-leading Rams improved to 10-3 in the conference and 18-15 overall. The Rams are a half game ahead of Dayton for the best league record in the Atlantic 10. Rhode Island, which has won 30 of its last 37 conference games, will look to win its 12th-straight Atlantic 10 series with a victory in either game of Sunday's doubleheader.

Rhode Island had seven players record multi-hit games and finished the day with 17 hits. The Rams scored four runs in the second inning, two in the third, three in the fifth and five more in the sixth inning, including back-to-back-to-back homers.

Senior Matt Sullivan (Nashua, N.H.) went 3-for-3 with his team-leading seventh home run, including his fifth in 13 Atlantic 10 games this year. Sullivan also had a double, drove in four runs and scored three more. Sophomore Scott Brown (Portland, Maine) also had three hits for the Rams including a home run, double and three RBIs.

Sophomore Dave Savard (Nashua, N.H.) went 2-for-3 with three runs scored and sophomore Ryan Cunningham (Centreville, Va.) had two hits and three RBIs. Junior Wayne Russo (Warwick, R.I.) went 2-for-3, while senior Mike Rainville (Pawtucket, R.I.) and junior Daryl Holcomb (Wilmington, Del.) also had two hits.

The Rams led 9-2 heading into the sixth inning, when Rhody added five more runs coming by way of three-straight home runs by Sullivan, Brown, and Cunningham.

Rhode Island got off to an ominous start to the game as St. Bonaventure's Craig King led off the game with a home run to right center and Jake New doubled to left center. With one out Joe Rizzo hit a ground-rule double to right that made it 2-0 after four batters.

But senior Dan Frederick (Dracut, Mass.) settled down after that, getting out of the inning and then holding the Bonnies (18-18, 4-9 Atlantic 10) scoreless over the next four innings to improve to 3-1 in Atlantic 10 play. He allowed nine hits and four runs, striking out two and walking two.

"I think Dan Frederick did a great job bearing down after a tough first inning and holding them down," Rhode Island head coach Frank Leoni said. "Then our offense obviously came through in a big way."

Junior Tom Venedam (Suffern, N.Y.) pitched 1 2/3 innings of no-hit, scoreless relief with two strikeouts. Venedam has gone four outings without allowing a run, covering 6 2/3 innings. In that stretch he has allowed only two hits and one walk, while striking out seven.

"Tom came in and held the fort down," Leoni said. "He continues to do a great job out of the bullpen for us."

Junior Zack Zuercher (Warwick, R.I.) will get the start in the first game Sunday. It will be almost a year to the day of Zuercher's nine-inning no-hitter against the Bonnies on April 25, 2004.