April 3, 2005

Box Score

DAYTON, Ohio - The University of Rhode Island baseball team scored three runs with two outs in the top of the seventh to take a one run lead and senior closer Mick Lefort (Lincoln, R.I.) ended the second game of Sunday's doubleheader just like the first - striking out a batter looking - as the Rams won 7-6 Sunday.

The Rams (8-11, 4-1 Atlantic 10) won the first game of Sunday's twin bill by a 4-1 score and used a dramatic last-inning comeback to clinch their ninth-straight Atlantic 10 series victory. The Rams have won five of the last six games, including four-straight conference games, and will go for the series sweep over Dayton (16-9, 3-2 A10) on Monday at 1:00 p.m.

Matt Sullivan extended his school-record hitting streak to 17 games.

Rhode Island trailed 6-4 and was down to its final out of the game, but a two-out single, by sophomore Ryan Cunningham (Centreville, Va.), a clutch two-run double by Mike Rainville (Pawtucket, R.I.) and the game-winning RBI-double by junior Wayne Russo (Warwick, R.I.) put Rhody on top 7-6. Lefort gave up a lead-off double in the bottom of the seventh, but struck out the last batter of the game - with the tying run on third and the winning run on first - for his sixth save of the year.

"These are two terrific wins for us coming against a great baseball team," Rhode Island head coach Frank Leoni said. "We got the second game in a way which is become typical of this team over the last couple of years. We scratched, we clawed and even when we were down to our last out, we kept fighting.

"I think a little bit of that experience of having been in these situations before kicked in and helped us pull this one out," Leoni said. "But Dayton is a very good team and they're going to come out smoking Monday."

Senior Matt Sullivan (Nashua, N.H.) doubled in the fourth inning to extend his school-record hitting streak to 17 games. He finished the game 1-for-4 and is hitting .343 during his 17-game hitting streak, which started in the Rams' third game of the season. Sullivan passed the previous school record of 14, held by former Rhody players Dan Batz (2004) and Mike Schiappa (2002), on Thursday at Boston College.

A three-run homer by Dayton's Bobby Getty gave the Flyers a 5-2 lead in the fifth and Dayton had a 6-4 advantage heading into Rhody's last at-bat.

With one out in the top of the seventh, Sullivan reached on an error, but was erased on a fielder's choice groundout by Scott Brown, giving the Rams a runner on first with two outs and a two-run deficit. That's when the rally started.

Cunningham, who finished the game 3-for-4, used a two-out single to right to put runners on the corners, and he was lifted for pinch runner CJ Simons (Wyoming, R.I.). Rainville came through with a clutch two-out, two-run double to left center to tie the game and advanced to third on the throw to the plate that wasn't in time to get Simons with the tying run.

Russo added what proved to be the game-winning RBI on his second hit of the game, a double to left that scored Rainville with the go-ahead run.

Wayne Russo had the game-winning RBI-double in the 7-6 win over Dayton.

Lefort came on to pitch the bottom of the seventh, but Joe McSoley greeted him with a lead-off double. A sacrifice bunt moved McSoley to third and Lefort hit Bryan Chandler with a pitch to give Dayton runners on the corners with one out. Craig Rohren fouled out to shortstop Joe Viscuso (Farmingdale, N.Y.) for the second out of the inning and Lefort struck out Josh Burt looking to end the game.

"Mick did a great job shutting the door for us today," Leoni said. "That is what we have come to expect from Mick."

Dayton jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third inning when Rhody starter Zack Zuercher (Warwick, R.I.) issued a lead-off walk and gave up a bunt single, setting up a two-run double by Getty, who finished the game 2-for-4 with five RBIs and a home run.

Rhode Island scored single runs in each of the next two innings to tie the game at 2-2. Sullivan led off the fourth with a double to left center, extending his hitting streak to 17 games. Brown followed with a walk and Cunningham singled to load the bases. Rainville hit a fielder's choice grounder that forced Sullivan out at the plate, but Russo hit a sacrifice line drive to center to score Brown and pull the Rams within one run.

In the fifth, Viscuso singled and with two outs and advanced all the way to third when Dayton botched a pick off attempt. Sullivan then reached on an error that scored Viscuso to tie the game at 2-2.

Dayton responded in the bottom of the fifth when an error and hit by pitch set up Getty's three-run homer for a 5-2 Dayton lead.

The Rams came right back in the top of the sixth, loading the bases with no outs by way of three-straight singles by Cunningham, Rainville and Russo. Savard was hit by a pitch to score Cunningham and pull Rhody within two at 5-3 with the bases still loaded and no outs.

Dayton starter Luke Trubee was able to get Rhody junior Josh Nestor (Nashua, N.H.) to ground into a double play, which did score Rainville to slice the lead to 5-4, but that's all Rhody would get in the inning.

The Flyers added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth when a lead-off walk and sac bunt moved a runner in scoring position. Zuercher struck out the next batter for the second out of the inning, putting an end to his day. Zuercher allowed five hits in 5 2/3 innings and struck out 10 for his ninth double-digit strikeout game in 17 starts in a Rhody uniform over the last two years.

Junior Tom Venedam (Suffern, N.Y.) came on to pitch and got a ground ball, but an error allowed the run to score for a 6-4 lead heading into the top of the seventh. Sophomore Adam Perkins (Hudson, N.H.) relieved Venedam, striking out the only batter he faced to earn the win thanks to the Rams' three-run seventh. Perkins is now 4-0 on the season with a 3.04 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings.