Rhode Island Lineup
Sherburne (RF), Caputo (SS), Taveras (DH), Gardella (C), Corin (1B), DeRegis (LF), O'Neil (3B), Hess (2B), Powell (CF), Distasio (P) 

North Carolina Lineup
Bolt (CF), Lassiter (LF), Myers (SS), Ramirez (RF), Chacon (C), Raburn (2B), Miller (DH), Warmoth (3B), Dudek (P) 

How it Happened
Rhode Island (1-5) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Tim Caputo scored on an RBI single by Derek Gardella. The Rams made it 2-0 the following inning when an RBI groundout by Caputo plated Matt O'Neil, who had reached on a UNC fielding error.

Lou Distasio did his part on the mound, delivering perhaps the most clutch performance of his career for Rhode Island. The junior righty got a double play to end the second inning with runners on second and third, and followed with a bases-loaded strikeout to end the next inning. He shut down UNC in the fourth and fifth as well - both times ending the frame with a strikeout, with runners in scoring position. In his final inning, he tossed a 1-2-3 sixth to stand in line for the win.

It wasn't until the bottom of the eighth that Carolina finally got on the board, scoring an unearned run off reliever Ben Wessel to make it a 2-1 game. 

Rhody widened the gap in the top of the ninth, however, tacking on four more runs on three hits, three stolen bases and a squeeze play that scored Jordan Powell. 

O'Neil got things started with a leadoff single through the left side before advancing to second on a sac-bunt by Chris Hess. Powell then singled through the left side to score O'Neil and make it 3-1 Rhody.

Powell then stole third before Mike Sherburne drew a walk to set up the squeeze. With Caputo laying down a perfectly placed bunt, Powell crossed the plate, Caputo reached first safely and Sherburne advanced to second to keep the late rally going. A double steal coupled with a throwing error by UNC's catcher then allowed Sherburne to score, before Gardella drove in Caputo for the 6-1 advantage.

The Tar Heels (6-3) did not go quietly, however. Leadoff hitter Skye Bolt reached on a third-strike wild pitch, before three straight walks made it 6-2. Alex Raburn then sent a sacrifice fly to centerfield to score Landon Lassiter with two away. That was as close as the game would get though, as Brian Miller grounded out to end UNC's comeback attempt.

Inside the Box Score

• The victory is Raphael Cerrato's first career win as head coach of his alma mater.
• It also is URI's first win over a ranked opponent since defeating #22 Notre Dame (4-3) on March 3, 2013.
• The upset marks the first time since 2009 that the Rams knock off a team ranked 11th or better. That year, Rhody notched wins over #8 Miami (3-0) and #11 Oklahoma State (5-4), en route to a program-record 37 wins.
• Junior Lou Distasio struck out nine over six scoreless innings to pick up his first W of the season. He allowed just four hits and walked two.
• Sophomore Tyler Barss earned the save, tossing the final inning and a third without allowing a hit. 
• Eight of Rhody's nine hitters reached base at least once on the night, led by Derek Gardella, Matt O'Neil and Jordan Powell - who each finished with two hits. Gardella also drove in a pair of runs while O'Neil scored twice. Powell had an RBI and one run scored.
• Tim Caputo accounted for four of Rhody's six runs, scoring twice and driving in two runs. He also stole two bases for the Rams.
• As a team, URI swiped five bags while the Tar Heels did not even attempt a stolen base with Gardella behind the plate.
• Mike Sherburne drew Rhode Island's lone walk of the night, extending his reached-base streak to a team-best 10 games, dating back to last season.
• Mike Corin also has reached base in each of URI's six games this season, stretching his streak to nine straight games dating back to last year.
• Redshirt sophomores Blaise Whitman and Ben Wessel combined with freshman Dom Grillo for 1.2 innings of relief with just one run allowed.
• The official time of the game - which started 90 minutes late following a 10-inning contest between Francis Marion and Flagler - was three hours and 58 minutes, with the final out coming well after midnight. 
• North Carolina entered the weekend ranked 11th or better in each of the six national polls (#11 D1Baseball.com, #14 NCBWA, #15 Perfect Game, #15 USA Today, #19 Baseball America, #21 Collegiate Baseball).

What's Next
The Rams return to action next weekend when they travel to Marshall for a three-game set with the Thundering Herd.