March 9, 2008

Box Score

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Senior Mike O'Malley (Nashua, N.H.) went 4-for-5 with a triple, two runs and an RBI as the Rhode Island baseball team took down Iona, 11-4, Sunday afternoon at Max Bishop Stadium. Sophomore Nick Greenwood (Southington, Conn.) earned the win for URI, striking out nine batters in six innings of work.

Trailing 3-2 after three innings, Rhody went on to score nine unanswered runs and put the game out of reach for the Gaels as sophomore Zoey Angulo (Miami, Fla.) and O'Malley opened the fourth with back-to-back hits and both crossed the plate to put the Rams up for good.

The following inning, Rhody freshman Tom Coulombe (Lincoln, R.I.) led off with a single to center and, after two outs, reached home on an error by Iona right fielder Chris Leahy. O'Malley then tripled to center to score Angulo and tallied URI's final run of the inning when the Gaels' Andrew Passerelle fumbled senior Zach Zaneski's (Waterford, Conn.) ball to left.

The Rams picked up where they left off in their next at bat with Palmer tripling to right and reaching home on an infield single by freshman Robert Noe (Lynnfield, Mass.). Coulombe then reached first on a fielder's choice play (that put Noe out at second) and advanced on freshman Casey Ide's (Alexandria, Va.) single to third. Classmate Kenny Burns (Shelton, Conn.) followed with a single through the right side and advanced to second on an error that allowed Ide and Coulombe to cross the plate safely and extend the Rams' lead to 10-3.

Ide's third hit of the game - an RBI single to center - plated Palmer in the bottom of the eighth before Iona got one back in the top of the ninth to end the game in favor of Rhode Island, 11-4.

Junior Luke Demko (Gilford, N.H.) and sophomore Tom Boyce (Swansea, Mass.) combined to throw two scoreless innings of relief for the Rams, while sophomore Mark Fraser (Nashua, N.H.) was charged with Iona's final run of the game.

Rhode Island (5-5) is back in action next weekend, for a three-game series at East Carolina (8-4).