May 27, 2005

DAYTON, Ohio - For the second-straight year the University of Rhode Island baseball team won the Atlantic 10 regular-season championship and earned the top seed in the Atlantic 10 Tournament, but this year the Rams were able to take advantage of that No. 1 seed. Rhode Island overcame a 3-0 deficit to defeat No. 4 seed Dayton 7-4 Thursday to advance to the winners' bracket final and pull within just two victories of its first A10 tourney title and NCAA berth.

The Rams will play Richmond in the winners' bracket final on Friday at noon. Rhody swept the Spiders by scores of 10-1, 14-1 and 9-4 this season and the Rams have taken five of seven meetings all-time between the two schools, including a 10-3 win in the 2004 Atlantic 10 Tournament.

Rhody junior left-hander Zack Zuercher will get the start. Zuercher, the 2004 Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year and a third-team All-American selection last spring, is 5-1 in conference play this season. Zuercher has a 2.45 ERA against Atlantic 10 opponents, who are hitting just .150 against him. He allowed just 29 hits and 16 runs - 15 of them earned - in 55 innings pitched with 75 K's.

Not many pitchers have been as dominant in conference play as Zuercher has over the past two seasons with an 11-2 record in 16 starts with 11 complete games, including four shutouts. He has allowed only 60 hits and 40 runs - 30 of them earned - in 111 2/3 career Atlantic 10 innings. He has struck out 162 batters in those 111 2/3 innings to average 13.06 K's per nine innings. His two-year Atlantic 10 ERA is 2.42.

Rhode Island, which ranked 25th in the nation in team ERA entering the week and boasts a 3.63 team ERA entering Friday's game, has its career-leader in winning percentage, sophomore Steve Holmes, waiting to pitch the third game of the tournament. Holmes is 11-2 in his career and 6-1 this season, including a perfect 4-0 in Atlantic 10 play.

The Rhode Island offense, which is averaging 6.9 runs per game and ranks 23rd in the country in batting average (.319), scored seven runs on Thursday against Dayton to help senior Dan Frederick pick up his 22nd career victory, tying the school record. Senior closer Mick Lefort tied his own single-season school record for saves with his eighth of the season and senior Matt Sullivan set the school's season home run record with his 13th of the year.