How It Happened
A late rally was not enough as Rhode Island fell to first-place Dayton 7-3 Sunday afternoon.
Dayton (26-13, 12-2 Atlantic 10) broke a scoreless tie with two runs in the top of the third, and then added five more in the sixth inning. A pinch-hit two-run single by Chloe Wong helped open the flood gates, as the Flyers used six hits and a walk to put together the rally.
Rhode Island (16-23, 6-8 A-10) struggled to find offense through the first six innings, but the Rams found some late momentum to build off of.
Skyler Rapuano led off the seventh with a single and
Elena Gonzalez followed with a walk. Pinch hitter
Annabeth Carlberg drilled a hard line drive to the gap in left center, bringing both runners in for Rhody's first runs of the game. Carlberg was hustling the entire time and wound up on third base when all was said and done.
Carlberg then scored on a groundout by
Caitlin O'Leary to give URI its final run of the game.
Inside the Box Score
- Freshman Kyle Bulinsky had Rhode Island's first two hits of the game. She singled in the first inning and just missed a home run when she doubled off the right field fence in the sixth inning.
- Over her last seven games, Bulinsky is 7-for-15 (.467) with five runs batted in.
- Freshman Annabeth Carlberg's pinch-hit double was her first career hit. She also had two RBI and one run scored.
- Senior Caitlin O'Leary has driven in a run in each of her last two pinch-hit appearances.
- Freshman Hannah Hernandez had a triple in the seventh inning. It was Rhode Island's fourth triple in the last five games. The Rams had two triples in the first 34 games of the season.
- Freshman Ashley Hibbard pitched 1.2 innings of scoreless relief while striking out three batters.
What's Next
Rhode Island plays at Holy Cross in its final non-conference action on Wednesday, April 19. At the moment, the teams are scheduled for a doubleheader that begins at 3 p.m.