May 16, 2010

Box Score

KINGSTON, R.I. - The Rhode Island baseball team fell to Richmond, 4-3, in a 10-inning game Sunday afternoon at Bill Beck Field.

Juniors Kyle Borden and Evan Laude each finished with two hits and an RBI for the Rams, who drop to 26-22 (15-9). Richmond, meanwhile, improves to 23-26 (9-15) - thanks, in part, to a 13-strikeout performance by starting pitcher Matt Trent.

Despite matching his career-best eight strikeouts over eight innings of work, URI starter Dan Rossignol earned a no-decision as he left the game with the score knotted at 2-2. Junior closer Gardner Leaver took the loss after a costly Rhode Island error prolonged the 10th inning and sent Richmond's Billy Barber to the plate. Barber - who tossed the final three innings and got the win for the Spiders, after spending the previous seven innings in left field - launched the first pitch he saw over the left-center fence to put the Spiders in front 4-2.

Barber was also responsible for Richmond's first two runs as he drilled another two-run shot off of the scoreboard in left field in the top of the first.

A trio of two-out singles by junior Tom Coulombe, Laude and senior Zoey Angulo made it a 4-3 game in the bottom of the 10th, but that was as close as the Rams would get. With Laude on third, senior Rob DeVeney sent a slow roller to short but Richmond's Adam McConnell was able to field the ball cleanly and make the throw over first, beating DeVeney by a step and ending the game in favor of the Spiders.

Rhody had cut the Spiders' lead in half in the third when sophomore Milan Adams doubled to left before scoring on a single by Borden. The Rams went on to tie it up at 2-2 - after Laude's fifth-inning RBI ground-out - but were unable to take the lead at any point throughout the game.

Rhode Island returns to action on Tuesday afternoon when it hosts Hartford at 1 p.m.