April 13, 2008

Box Score

KINGSTON, R.I. - Junior Dan Rhault (Lincoln, R.I.) crushed an eighth-inning grand slam to send the Rhode Island baseball team past Saint Louis, 6-3, Sunday afternoon at Bill Beck Field. Junior reliever Luke Demko (Gilford, N.H.) earned the win for the Rams, tossing the final three innings with no hits and no runs to keep his ERA at 0.00 with just four hits over his last eight appearances (13 innings).

The Billikens jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning - on a two-out, two-run homer by Ramee Yacoub - but Rhody tied things up in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI ground out by senior Mike O'Malley (Nashua, N.H.) and a run-scoring single up the middle by sophomore Rob Deveney (Marlton, N.J.).

O'Malley finished the three-game series against SLU with seven hits, three runs and two RBI while Deveney batted in four on four hits, including the game-winning run on a ninth-inning double in game two, Friday afternoon.

Saint Louis (14-18, 4-8 Atlantic 10) went back up, 3-2, in the top of the fifth as Ryan Bennett used a center field single to plate Mike Beal and reclaim the lead for the Billikens.

The Rams were unable to put anything together in their next three at-bats - recording just one hit in the fifth, one in the sixth and one in the seventh - before locking up the win in the bottom of the eighth. SLU reliever Brad Perkins walked senior Shaun Hagey (Ephrata, Pa.) to lead off the inning before senior Zach Zaneski (Waterford, Conn.) reached safely on a bunt single, putting runners on first and second with no outs. O'Malley then sac-bunted to move both Hagey and Zaneski in scoring position for Deveney, who was intentionally walked. With bases loaded, Rhault then took the plate and sent a deep ball over the right field fence for his second homerun of the week, as well as the 6-3 victory.

Sophomore starter Nick Greenwood (Southington, Conn.) got the no-decision, striking out five and allowing three runs in six innings of work, while Demko struck out four batters en route to his first career win. Perkins was charged with the loss.

The Rams (15-19, 6-6 Atlantic 10) are back in action on Tuesday afternoon, when they travel to Quinnipiac for a 3 p.m. game against the Bobcats.