May 1, 2010

PITTSBURGH - The Rhode Island baseball team cruised to a 7-1 victory over Duquesne on Friday afternoon in Pittsburgh. Juniors Evan Laude, Tom Coulombe and Kyle Borden each recorded two hits in the win.

The victory improves URI to 21-19 (10-6) while Duquesne drops to 9-35 (4-12).

Sophomore Mike LeBel put the Rams in front, 1-0, in the fourth inning when he led off with a single and eventually scored on a passed ball. Rhody stretched it to 5-0 in the sixth as Borden, senior Oliver Palmer and Laude recorded three straight singles to load the bases. Sophomore Milan Adams and senior Rob DeVeney then recorded back-to-back walks to score Borden and Palmer before Coulombe sent a two-run single to right to give the Rams a five-run advantage.

URI tacked on two more the following inning as Laude plated Borden on a single to center and DeVeney drew another bases-loaded walk to score Palmer.

Senior Tim Boyce earned the win as he gave up four hits over seven scoreless innings while fanning five batters. Junior reliever Brian Bodjiak tossed the final two innings, allowing one run on two hits with three strikeouts. Duquesne's Robert Corsi tool the loss.

The Rams and Dukes return to action on Saturday afternoon when they close out the three-game series with a doubleheader set to begin at 11 a.m.