April 10, 2010
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
KINGSTON, R.I. - The Rhode Island baseball team split its Atlantic 10 doubleheader with No. 27 Charlotte, Saturday afternoon at Bill Beck Field. Rhody won the second game, 6-2, after falling by a score of 3-1 in the series-opener.
With the split, the Rams move to 13-14 (5-3) while Charlotte goes to 27-7 (7-1).
As a team, URI combined for 16 hits on the afternoon but stranded 22 runners over the two games. Charlotte, meanwhile, finished with 13 hits and left 15 on base.
Offensively, sophomore Mike LeBel led the way for the Rams, recording four hits, three runs and a stolen base while senior Zoey Angulo had three hits and two RBI. Junior Evan Laude, meanwhile, drove in three runs on two hits for Rhody.
Junior starter Ken Graveline earned the win in the second game, scattering just three hits over seven scoreless innings and retiring 11 consecutive batters from the second to sixth innings to improve to 3-2 on the year. Junior Gardner Leaver - who came on with two away in the eighth inning - faced the minimum four batters to pick up his fourth save of the season.
In Game One, senior Tim Boyce struck out seven and allowed just one run over 7.2 innings, but got a no-decision after leaving with the score locked at 1-1 in the top of the eighth.
Rhode Island and Charlotte each plated a run in the first inning but neither team was able to string together the offense needed to push another across until Cory Tilton sent a two-out triple down the right field line to score Justin Wilson and Shane Brown in the top of the ninth. The Rams got a pair of runners to second and third in the bottom of the frame but were unable to do any further damage, ending the game in a 3-1 defeat.
Junior reliever Dan Johnson was charged with the loss, giving up two runs on two hits and a walk over the final 1.1 innings of play. Corey Roberts (7IP/3H/5K) got the win for the 49ers while Patrick Lawson picked up the save.
Looking to bounce back after the loss, Rhode Island came out and built up a 4-0 lead over the first five innings of the second game.
Junior Tom Coulombe scored the Rams' first run, drawing a lead-off walk and then advancing to third when Charlotte's Wilson committed two errors on the same play. In right field, Wilson had Laude's fly ball bounce off his glove before an errant throw to second allowed Coulombe to advance to third and Laude to reach second safely. Coulombe then scored on an RBI ground out by Angulo.
Rhody tacked on three more the following inning as LeBel singled through the left side and came around to score on a double by senior Oliver Palmer. Laude then plated Palmer with a two-out double to center before scoring Rhody's fourth run on Angulo's single to right.
The 49ers scored twice in the top of the eighth, but LeBel's two-run single in the bottom of the inning put the game out of reach. Leaver finished things off with a 1-2-3 ninth to give Rhode Island the 6-2 win.
The two teams will return to Bill Beck Field to close out the three-game series, tomorrow at Noon.
