Rhode Island Lineup
Hess (2B), Figueroa (3B), Powell (CF), Olmo (RF), McManus (1B), Wilson (DH), Livingston (C), Corin (LF), Hill (SS), Moyers (P)

La Salle Lineup
C.McGowan (SS), K.McGowan (2B), Ravert (DH), Hinchliffe (LF), Jarmuz (RF), Tagoe (CF), Faso (1B), Simon (C), Rivera (3B), Reilly (P)

How it Happened
Rhode Island (26-25, 17-6) went up 1-0 in the top of the second as Brett McManus crossed the plate on an RBI groundout by Chase Livingston. Back-to-back triples by Laurence Hill and Chris Hess, followed by an RBI groundout by Martin Figueroa then pushed the Rams' lead to 3-0 in the top of the third.

La Salle (15-38, 6-17) evened it up in the bottom of the frame however - scoring three unearned runs on three hits and three Rhode Island errors - and then pulled ahead 4-3 on a seventh-inning sac-fly.

Rhody eventually put the game away in the top of the eighth, using a two-out rally to score four more runs. Brett McManus got things started with a leadoff walk before being replaced by pinch-runner Mike Foley. Foley then moved to second on a sac-bunt by Derek Gardella and later scored the game-tying run on a two-out single by Mike Corin. Hill and Hess once again tripled in back-to-back at-bats - each driving in a run - before an RBI single by Figueroa made it 7-4 Rhody.

The Explorers got a run back in the bottom of the inning, but Tyler Barss induced a double play to end the eighth and retired the side in order in the ninth to collect his program record 12th save of the season.

Inside the Box Score

• Redshirt sophomore Chris Hess and redshirt freshman Laurence Hill each tripled twice in the win, tying Rhody's single-game record for triples by an individual. Hess has now tripled twice in three games over his career.
• With nine on the year, Hess now leads the nation in triples. He also set a new single-season record at URI, passing John Scullin, who belted seven in 2000. Scullin also owns Rhode Island's career triples record, with 16 from 1998-2001. With 15 for his career, Hess is just one shy of matching and two away from breaking Scullin's record.
• Hess and Hill each scored twice as well, with Hess driving in two runs and Hill recording one RBI. Hill also registered three putouts and four assists at shortstop, including a double play to end the eighth.
• Junior Martin Figueroa went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI. His first hit of the game was a double - his 20th of the season.
• Sophomore Jordan Powell and redshirt senior Derek Gardella also doubled for the Rams.
• Redshirt junior Mike Corin singled, drove in a run and scored one of his own while sophomore Mike Foley scored as a pinch runner and then singled in his only at-bat of the game.
• Senior Steve Moyers picked up the win, improving to 5-6 on the season. He allowed five runs (two earned) over seven innings and struck out a pair.
• Redshirt sophomore Tyler Barss recorded the six-out save, giving up just one hit over the final two innings. The save - which was his 12th of the season - set a new single-season record for the Rams. With 14 for his career, he is now ranks second all-time and is three aware from tying Mick Lefort's record of 17.

Up Next
The Rams and Explorers remain at Hank DeVincent Field for game two of the doubleheader, set to begin at approximately 3:30 p.m. A Rhode Island win would guarantee the Rams at least a share of the Atlantic 10 regular season title as well as the lone first-round bye in next weekend's conference tournament.