How it Happened
After going down into a 2-0 hole early, the Rhode Island baseball team exploded for 11 runs in four innings to take down Dayton 11-6 on Saturday afternoon at Bill Beck Field. 

The Rams' (18-23, 8-7 Atlantic 10) offense belted out a season-high five home runs to earn their first and only win in the series against the Flyers (17-28, 9-6 A-10). 

Anthony DePino was first to leave the yard, smacking his 11th home run of the year out to left center in the bottom of the third. The shot, which drove Billy Butler in, tied the score up at 2-2 as Dayton had used a pair of base hits to drive in runs in the opening frames. 

Rhode Island continued to stack runs in the following inning, using Nick Toro's first big fly at Bill Beck Field and a two-RBI single off the bat of DePino to extend the lead to 5-2. Over the next two frames, a pair of home runs from Rob Butler as well as another RBI knock from DePino added an additional five runs to the lead. Michael Anderson then capped off the scoring spree in the seventh with a solo shot that put Rhody ahead 11-2.

Though he did give up a pair of early runs, starter Braeden Perry settled in nicely on the mound and pitched four-straight scoreless innings before handing the ball to Jon Morrison in the top of the seventh. The team captain, who entered the game with one out and a runner on, forced Dayton to yet another zero.

Following five shutout innings, the Flyers made a move in the eighth and quickly loaded up the bases before a pinch-hit grand slam off of Jeremy Urena, who relieved Morrison, cashed in all of the runs and cut the lead to 11-6. 

Despite the push, the Rams had no problem preserving their lead as Ryan Andrade closed things out by retiring all three batters he faced in the ninth on strikes. 

Inside the Box Score

• This was the first multi-home run game of redshirt sophomore Rob Butler's career. He is the second Ram to achieve the feat this season, joining freshman Michael Anderson (Feb. 26 at Mercer) and redshirt senior Mark Coley (March 5 at Virginia).
• Sophomore Anthony DePino's homer was his 11th of the year. He is now the first Ram in program history to have two campaigns that rank within the single season top-10 list, as he had 16 a year ago.
• He is now five away from taking over as the Rhode Island career home run king. Mike Le Bel (2009-13) currently holds the record with 31, while Mike Corin (2014-17) stands second with 29.  
• Freshman Braeden Perry pitched his third quality start in conference play, fanning six batters while scattering seven hits in his 6.1 innings of work. 
• With the result, he improved his season record to 4-4. 
• DePino's five RBI on the day are the most recorded by any Ram this season. He was 3-for-5 at the plate and scored one run. 
• Seven different players helped Rhody achieve its 12 hits on the day.
• Rhode Island now has 19 games with double-digit hits and has scored 10-or-more runs six times. 

What's Next
Rhode Island will have a week off before heading to Massachusetts for a three-game conference set beginning on Friday, May 5.