May 28, 2005

Box Score

DAYTON, Ohio - The University of Rhode Island baseball team is ranked 23rd in the nation in team batting average and 25th in team ERA, but it was the Rams' defense that made the difference as they defeated George Washington 9-7 Saturday to win the school's first-ever Atlantic 10 Championship.

Josh Nestor tagged the runner out trying to steal home in the seventh and was 5-for-12 with two doubles, two homers and four RBIs to earn all-tournament honors.

Grasping to a 6-5 lead in the seventh inning, George Washington had runners on first and second with no outs, but two spectacular defensive plays let the Rams sneak out of the inning with the lead intact. Junior Daryl Holcomb (Wilmington, Va.) made a running catch in shallow left field and fired into second to double the runner off. Then George Washington tried to steal home, but junior catcher Josh Nestor (Nashua, N.H.) made a great effort to catch a curve ball low-and-away and tag the runner out at the plate. Rhode Island did not commit an error in 27 innings of tournament play.

"Of all the statistical categories, I've been most proud of our defense all year," 13-year Rhode Island head coach Frank Leoni said. "We got our best defensive play when we needed it the most. It certainly carried us to the championship."

With momentum clearly shifting to Rhody after escaping the seventh with the lead, the Rams added two runs in the top of the eighth and never looked back. Senior closer Mick Lefort (Lincoln, R.I.) struck out the last batter to end the game for his school record ninth save of the season, securing Rhody's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. The Rams will find out their seed and opponent in the NCAA Tournament when the pairings are unveiled on Monday at 11:30 a.m. on ESPN.

Mick Lefort struck out the last batter he faced for his school-record ninth save of the season, including second in the A10 tournament.

"This is what it's all about and this is what we've worked so hard for," Leoni, a Cranston, R.I. native and former player for the Rams, said. "A long time ago I was told that we could never do this. It's just gratifying to see that we finally came through."

The two-time defending Atlantic 10 Champion Rams went a perfect 3-0 in the six-team, double-elimination tournament and have now won 38 of their last 46 games against Atlantic 10 teams. Rhode Island, which improved to 34-19 on the season, lost in the conference finals last spring, but outscored its opponents 24-14 in winning three-straight games in this year's tournament.

Sophomore Wayne Russo (Warwick, R.I.) went 2-for-3 in the title game, including a RBI-double off the wall in left center field that gave the Rams an insurance run in the top of the ninth inning. Russo was named the Atlantic 10 Championship's Most Outstanding Player after batting .636 (7-for-11) with two doubles and two RBIs in the three victories.

Daryl Holcomb earned all-tournament honors with four hits and four RBIs, along with a key outfield assist Saturday.

"Winning this title means so much to this team and this University," Russo said. "Everyone came up with key plays and that's what enabled us to win."

Sophomore Steve Holmes (Lincoln, R.I.) earned the win Saturday, allowing only seven hits in seven innings of work and striking out five. Holmes improved to 7-1 on the season and is now 12-2 for his two-year career, which makes him the URI all-time leader in winning percentage at .857.

The Rams put four players on the 12-player Atlantic 10 All-Championship team. Russo, Nestor, Holcomb and sophomore center fielder Dave Savard (Nashua, N.H.) all earned a spot on the all-tournament team. Nestor hit .417 (5-for-12) with two doubles, two homers, four RBIs and five runs scored. Savard also hit .417 (5-for-12) with three runs scored and a run batted in. Holcomb batted .364 with four hits, four RBIs, four runs scored and an outfield assist on the key double play in the seventh inning of the championship game.

The Rams got on the board in the first inning on a RBI-single by sophomore Ryan Cunningham (Centreville, Va.). The Colonials took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third inning, when Ryan Roberson cranked a two-run home run over the wall in right center field.

Rhode Island came back with three runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 4-2 lead. Russo reached on a throwing error and senior Mike Rainville (Pawtucket, R.I.) walked. Savard grounded a singled through the left side to load the bases and then senior Joe Viscuso (Farmingdale, N.Y.) grounded into a double play that scored Russo from third to tie the game. Holcomb then came through with a two-out, two-strike RBI-single for the second-straight game, driving in Rainville for a 3-2 edge. Sullivan hit a grounder to third, but a throwing error allowed Sullivan to reach and Holcomb to score all the way from first base for a 4-2 advantage.

George Washington answered with its second two-run homer in as many innings when Joe Michalski crushed a ball over the left field wall to tie the game at 4-4.

Dave Savard batted .417 in the three games to earn Atlantic 10 All-Championship honors.

The Rams regained the lead in the top of the fifth with two more runs. Sophomore Scott Brown (Portland, Maine) and Nestor drew walks to start the inning. Russo singled to load the bases and then Rainville gave the Rams another case of great two-strike hitting with a fly ball to shallow left field that Brown tagged on and scored for a 5-4 lead. Savard followed with a two-out single to right that scored Nestor for a 6-4 advantage.

George Washington used the long ball once again in the bottom of the sixth, when Matt Owens hit a home run to right field, slicing the gap to 6-5.

Holmes and the Rams got out of a huge jam in the seventh inning thanks to the defensive play of Holcomb and Nestor. GW's Rosenblat was hit by a pitch and Milsom blooped a single into left field. A double steal put the tying run on third and the go-ahead run on second with no outs, but Rosenblat hit a shallow fly ball to left that Holcomb made a running catch on and fired into second to double off the runner. Then with two outs, Rosenblat attempted to steal home, but Nestor made a great play to catch a low-and-away curve ball and take Roberson out on a bang-bang play to end the inning.

Rhode Island then added two runs in the bottom of the inning to open up an 8-5 advantage. Savard led off with an infield single and reached second on an error. Viscuso bunted Savard over to third and then Holcomb hit a grounder to first base, but the throw to the plate didn't get Savard. Holcomb moved to second on the play, stole third and scored on a base hit to left field by Sullivan.

George Washington scored a run in the eighth inning to pull within two runs, but Russo put together a great at-bat, fouling off four pitches and going to a full count before blasting a double off the wall at the 381-feet sign in left field. That scored Cunningham, who had been hit by a pitch, to give Rhode Island a 9-6 lead.

GW's Milsom hit a solo shot with two outs and two strikes in the bottom of the ninth, but Lefort struck out the last batter of the game for his school-record ninth save of the season and the 16th of his career.