March 27, 2009

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CINCINNATI - Junior starter Tim Boyce (Swansea, Mass.) retired 13-consecutive batters while the Rhode Island baseball team belted a season-high four homeruns in an 11-3 victory over Xavier, Friday afternoon at Hayden Field. Junior Oliver Palmer (North Kingston, R.I.) cleared the fence twice in the win while sophomore Jeff Cammans (Jamestown, R.I.) and freshman Mike LeBel (Quincy, Mass.) homered once each.

LeBel finished 3-for-5 on the day with three RBI and a pair of runs, extending his hitting streak to eight games. Palmer and Cammans also recorded three RBI and two runs each while junior Zoey Angulo (Miami, Fla.), sophomore Tom Coulombe (Lincoln, R.I.) and classmate Kenny Burns (Shelton, Conn.) had two hits apiece. Burns also drove in a run, scored twice and recorded the lone stolen base of the game.

As a team, the Rams doubled the Musketeers hit total, recording 14 compared to Xavier's seven. Half of Rhody's hits were for extra bases as the Rams finished with three doubles and four homeruns.

Boyce earned the win for URI, striking out five batters and allowing just two runs over six-and-two-thirds innings before being relieved by sophomore Ken Graveline (Prospect, Conn.), who held the Musketeers hitless over the next 1.1 innings. Freshman Ryan O'Neill (Dumont, N.J.) closed out the game for URI with a one-hit, one-run ninth inning.

Xavier (12-7, 3-1) scored first, taking a one-run lead after the first inning but LeBel's two-out solo-shot tied things up in the top of the second. The Rams then took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth when Coulombe reached base on a two-out single and came around to score on a base hit by LeBel.

Rhody (13-7, 3-1) kept things rolling the following inning as Burns led off with a double to center and advanced to third on a bunt single by Angulo. Senior Dan Rhault (Lincoln, R.I.) then singled through the right side to score Burns before Cammans sent one out of the park to give the Rams a 6-1 edge.

It was three-up, three-down for Xavier in the bottom of the fifth sending the Rams back to the plate where a run-scoring single by Burns and Palmer's first homerun - a two-run bomb - would put Rhode Island ahead 9-1.

The Musketeers got one back on the bottom of the seventh to make the score 9-2 but it was too little, too late as Rhody outscored XU, 2-1, over the last two innings to take the win.

The teams will return to Hayden Field for the second meeting of the three-game series, tomorrow at Noon.