March 24, 2007

Box Score

RICHMOND, Va. - Rhode Island senior Eric Larson (Bradenton, Fla.) went 2-for-4 and extended his hitting streak to six-consecutive games as the Rams were defeated, 5-3, at Richmond on Saturday afternoon. Seniors Gregg Allen (Dighton, Mass.) and Scott Brown (Portland, Maine) also turned in two hits each.

Richmond (12-10, 2-0 Atlantic 10) got on the board first with a three-hit two-run second inning. Rhody responded in the bottom half of the inning, cutting the Spiders' lead in half when sophomore Dan Rhault (Lincoln, R.I.) scored on redshirt sophomore Chris Parkinson's (Utica, N.Y.) single to right.

Richmond extended its lead to 3-1 in the fifth but URI got the run back in the bottom of the inning when junior Shaun Hagey (Ephrata, Pa.), who walked and advanced to third on senior Dave Savard's (Nashua, N.H.) single to right, scored while Savard got tied up in a pick-off play.

The Spiders tallied again in the seventh but the Rams battled back with a run in the bottom of the eighth. Senior Ryan Cunningham (Centreville, Va.) led off with a single to center and moved to second on a balk by Richmond's Brian Alas. The Rhody first baseman advanced to third on Allen's ground out to second and scored on junior Zach Zaneski's (Waterford, Conn.) ground out to third. The Rams had a chance to tie things up or take the lead, but ended the inning with two runners left on base.

Redshirt freshman Tim Boyce (Swansea, Mass.) took the mound in the top of the ninth and got Richmond's first batter to ground out third. The Spiders' Hank Coogan then reached base on a Rhode Island error followed by Boyce intentionally walking Joe Mahoney. Both runners then advanced on a wild pitch and Boyce walked Vince Riggi to load the bases with one out. Coogan made the score 5-3 when he tagged up and scored on Alex Wotring's sacrifice fly to center.

In the bottom of the ninth, Hagey led off with a walk before Savard hit into a double play. Brown then singled to center but the Rhode Island comeback attempt was cut short when Cunningham struck out to end the game, 5-3, in favor of Richmond.

Redshirt senior Adam Perkins (Hudson, N.H.) was charged with the loss after giving up 6 hits and 3 runs in six innings on the hill. Richmond's Ian Marshall picked up the win for the Spiders.

Rhode Island (2-13, 0-2 Atlantic 10) will face Richmond again at 12:00 p.m., tomorrow afternoon, at Pitt Field in Richmond, Va.