May 13, 2008

Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score

BROOKLINE, Mass. - Junior Dan Rhault (Lincoln, R.I.) went 4-for-8 with a homerun, a grand slam and seven RBI as the Rhode Island baseball team split a doubleheader with Northeastern, Tuesday afternoon. The Rams won the first game by a score of 10-2 before dropping the second game, 8-3.

Freshman Tom Coulombe (Lincoln, R.I.) finished with three hits and two runs on the day while seniors Shaun Hagey (Ephrata, Pa.) and Zach Zaneski (Waterford, Conn.) each recorded a pair of stolen bases.

Sophomore reliever Tim Boyce (Swansea, Mass.) threw 2.2 innings in Game 1, taking the win and improving to 4-1 on the season. He replaced freshman starter Chris Pickering (Lincoln, R.I.), who lasted three innings and was responsible for both Northeastern runs. Sophomore Mark Fraser (Nashua, N.H.) closed out the game for URI, giving up just one hit in the final 1.1 innings of play.

Rhody (28-23-1) took a 4-0 lead in the second inning, as Rhault used a two-run triple to plate Zaneski and senior Mike O'Malley (Nashua, N.H.) before scoring on a wild pitch. Freshman Pete Mastors (Narragansett, R.I.) then drove in Coulombe with a sacrifice fly out to right field.

The Huskies (24-24-1) scored a pair in the bottom of the fourth, but Rhault answered with his second grand slam of the season, clearing the bases on a fifth-inning shot over the left field fence.

The following inning, freshmen Kenny Burns (Shelton, Conn.) and Ron Bracchi (Wappinger Falls, N.Y.) drew back-to-back walks before advancing a base on sophomore Oliver Palmer's (North Kingstown, R.I.) single to right center. Zaneski's single up the middle then drove in both Burns and Bracchi, sealing the 10-2 victory.

Northeastern took an early 3-0 lead on back-to-back first-inning homeruns off Rhody sophomore starter Dan Rossignol (Nashua, N.H.) in Game 2, but URI got a pair back in the bottom of the second when freshman Evan Laude (Long Beach, N.Y.) scored on a passed ball and Coulombe crossed the plate on an RBI ground out by freshman Robert Noe (Lynnfield, Mass.).

The Huskies tallied five more runs over the next four innings before Rhault crushed his second homer of the day in the top of the sixth to make the score 8-3.

In Rhody's final at bat, sophomore pinch hitter Nick Greenwood (Southington, Conn.) ripped the first pitch he saw back up the middle for a base hit, but three straight outs prevented the Rams from doing any further damage.

Rossignol took the loss, giving up six hits and six runs, while freshmen Ken Graveline (Prospect, Conn.) and Gardner Leaver (Montauk, N.Y.) combined for five innings of relief with two hits and one run each. Graveline recorded a game-high six strikeouts.

Rhode Island will now travel to Charlotte for its final Atlantic 10 series of the season. The Rams and 49ers will play Thursday at 6 p.m., Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at Noon.