Rhode Island Lineup
Powell (CF), Foley (RF), Hess (2B), O'Neil (3B), Corin (LF), Figueroa (C), McManus (1B), Ulliana (DH), Heiss (SS), Murphy (P)

Massachusetts Lineup 
Avallone (2B), Evangelista (LF), Lever (SS), Geannelis (DH), Mrowka (1B), Morris (CF), Kessinger (RF), Linnane (C), Norton (3B), Lasko (P)

How it Happened
Rhode Island (26-16, 14-4 A-10) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning as Matt O'Neil homered to right center, also driving in Mike Foley who had singled to short with one away.

Matt Murphy handled things in the field, striking out seven of the first 11 hitters he face and allowing just two base runners through the first four innings.

The Rams pushed it to 3-0 in the bottom of the fifth - when Jordan Powell scored on a base hit by O'Neil - and made it 5-0 the following inning on RBI singles by both Powell and Sonny Ulliana.

Massachusetts (12-26, 6-10 A-10) failed to advance a runner past second base all afternoon and finished the game with just five hits total. Cooper Mrowka (0-4) and Dylan Morris (1-3) were the only Minutemen to not strike out, however the pair combined to go just 1-for-7 through nine innings.

Inside the Box Score

• Redshirt senior Matt O'Neil went 3-for-4 with a run scored and three RBI. He finished the game a triple shy of the cycle while also homering for the 11th time this season.
• Junior Jordan Powell also turned in a three-hit performance to extend his reached base streak to a team-best 27 consecutive games. He also scored once and drove in a run.
• Senior Martin Figueroa and redshirt senior Mike Corin each had a pair of hits for the Rams while junior Mike Foley went 1-for-3 with a pair of sacrifice bunts.
• Redshirt junior Matt Murphy earned the win, recording a career-high nine strikeouts over a 7.0-inning start. He issued only one walk while allowing just four hits to improve to 5-2 on the season.
• Redshirt freshman Jake Rockefeller replaced Murphy to start the eighth and worked a scoreless inning before redshirt senior Ben Wessel closed things out in the ninth. For Wessel, the pitching appearance was his first of the season after injuring his throwing elbow during the first day of practice this spring. He faced the minimum three batters and did not allow a hit.

Up Next
Rhody and UMass remain at The Beck for Game #2 of Saturday's doubleheader, set to begin at approximately 3:45 p.m.