April 9, 2005

Box Score

KINGSTON, R.I. - The University of Rhode Island baseball team used a 17-hit attack to win 14-1 and sweep a doubleheader from Richmond, clinching the Rams' 10th-straight Atlantic 10 series victory. Rhode Island outscored the Spiders 24-2 in Saturday's doubleheader, taking the first game by a 10-1 score.

Junior left-hander Zack Zuercher (Warwick, R.I.) threw a complete-game three-hitter, allowing one run and striking out a season-high 12 batters to pick up the win. With the score 14-0, Zuercher gave up a lead-off solo home run to Alex Hale in the sixth inning, Richmond's first hit since Ben Zeskind started the game with an infield single. Andrew Justice followed the home run with a single to right field, but Zuercher struck out the next six batters he faced to finish the game. He now has 10 double-digit strikeout games in 18 career starts in a Rhody uniform.

"Zuercher pitched well today, that was a very dominating performance," Rhode Island head coach Frank Leoni said.

Rhode Island (10-14, 6-2 Atlantic 10) has taken four of the six games between the two schools since the perennial powerhouse Spiders joined the Atlantic 10 in 2002. The Rams, who are 26-4 in the their last 30 conference games, will go for the series sweep over Richmond (14-16, 7-4 Atlantic 10) on Sunday at noon with sophomore right-hander Steve Holmes (Lincoln, R.I.) taking the mound.

Ryan Cunningham has a 15-game hitting streak after tying a school record with five hits in Saturday's second game.

The Rams posted a season high with 17 hits and 14 runs in the second game. Rhody sophomore Ryan Cunningham (Centreville, Va.) tied the school record for hits in a game, going 5-for-5 in the second game with four RBIs and three runs scored as he extended his hitting streak to 15 games. That brings Cunningham just two games short of the school record of 17 by senior Matt Sullivan (Nashua, N.H.). Sullivan's streak ended Monday in the series finale against Dayton.

Junior Daryl Holcomb (Wilmington, Del.) went 4-for-5 with two doubles and a home run in the second game after a 3-for-4 performance with a home run and three RBIs in the first game. Holcomb's final stat line for the day was 7-of-9 with four RBIs, two home runs, two doubles and four runs scored.

"We had a total contribution from the entire lineup today, especially Holcomb and Cunningham," Leoni said. "Everybody did their job, we had a lot of solid at bats and got into their bullpen early in both games."

Senior Mike Rainville (Pawtucket, R.I.) went 2-for-4 with two RBI-singles and a run scored and sophomore Scott Brown (Portland, Maine) was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Junior Wayne Russo (Warwick, R.I.) was 1-for-2 with a two-run double and junior Josh Nestor (Nashua, N.H.) was 1-for-2 with two RBIs. Freshman CJ Simons (Wyoming, R.I.) also went 1-for-2 for the Rams.

Daryl Holcomb went 4-for-5 with two doubles and a home run in the 14-1 win over Richmond.

Rhode Island scored all 14 runs in the first five frames, starting with a two-run first inning. With one out, Brown drew a walk and Cunningham singled to extend his hitting streak. Rainville hit a RBI-single to left to score Brown and, after Russo walked to load the bases, Nestor drew a walk to plate Cunningham for a 2-0 lead.

The Rams added three runs in the bottom of the second inning, all coming with two outs. After the first two batters of the inning were retired in order, Sullivan was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a botched pick-off attempt. Brown grounded a single up the middle to score Sullivan and Cunningham laced a double to right center to bring Brown in from first for a 4-0 lead. Rainville walked and Russo was hit by a pitch to load the bases, setting up Cunningham to score the Rams' fifth run on a wild pitch.

Rhody pushed five more runs across in the third inning. Senior Joe Viscuso (Farmingdale, N.Y.) singled to right to start the inning and Holcomb doubled. After Sullivan walked to load the bases, Cunningham hit a two-run single with one out for a 7-0 lead. With two outs, Russo ripped a two-run double to right center and Nestor made it 10-0 with a RBI-double to the left field wall.

Rhody added another run in the fifth inning when Holcomb started the inning with his third hit of the game and second double. Brown walked and Cunningham drilled his fourth hit of the day through the left side of the infield to load the bases. Rainville hit his second RBI-single of the game to score Holcomb for an 11-0 lead.

The Rams scored three more runs with two outs in the fifth inning. Holcomb pulled a ball over the right field fence for his fourth hit of the game and second homer of the day to make it 12-0. Simons singled to left and scored on a double to the wall in center by Brown. Cunningham singled for his fifth hit of the day, scoring Brown for a 14-0 advantage.