Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

University of Rhode Island

Houchens Header
12
Winner Rhode Island URI 16-24, 10-9 A-10
2
Saint Louis SLU 16-26, 7-12 A-10
Winner
Rhode Island URI
16-24, 10-9 A-10
12
Final
2
Saint Louis SLU
16-26, 7-12 A-10
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Rhode Island URI 0 0 4 1 0 3 0 1 3 12 12 0
Saint Louis SLU 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 2

W: Houchens, Sam (1-3) L: Ben Cherico (3-5) S: Sabbath, Joe (1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Pitching Propels Rams to 12-2 Win at Saint Louis

Rhode Island Starters (16-24, 10-9 Atlantic 10)
Penney (2B), Moroney (SS), Thompson (1B), Hopko (RF), King (3B), Toro (C), Botti (LF), Leikus (DH), Henschel (CF), Houchens (P)

Saint Louis Starters (16-26, 7-12 Atlantic 10)
Duff (CF), Halverson (2B), Iffrig (1B), Gomric (LF), Beattie (DH), Arnold (C), Neuweg (SS), Canzoni (3B), Bond (RF), Cherico (P)

How it Happened
Rhode Island's pitching duo of Sam Houchens and Joe Sabbath held Saint Louis to four hits leading to a 12-2 win in the series opener on Friday night in St. Louis, Mo. 

Houchens allowed two runs on one hit in the second inning but would settle down and retire his next eight batters. The Rams offense responded as Houchens worked on the bump. Rhode Island scored four runs in the third inning on a Reece Moroney RBI single that scored Ryan Henschel and a three-run home run from Jack Hopko to take a 4-2 lead. 

Danny Leikus then notched an RBI in both the fourth and sixth innings to help expand the lead. Leikus' solo homer in the fourth lifted the Rams up 5-2, then an RBI single that scored Nicholas Toro made it 6-2 Rams. 

Rhode Island plated another two runs in the sixth when Scott Penney grounded out and brought Aidan Botti in to score, and Moroney singled to left to bring in Leikus.

Houchens gave way to the Rams' traditional Friday starter Joe Sabbath who missed his last two starts with a foot injury. Sabbath held the Billikens to one hit and no runs over the next four innings to ice the game for Rhode Island. 

As Sabbath dealt on the bump, the Rams offense powered through the late innings. Henschel added a solo home run in the eighth to give the Rams a 9-2 advantage. Then in the ninth, Ryan King launched a three-run homer to lift the Rams to the eventual final score of 12-2. 

Inside the Box Score
  • Sam Houchens earned his first career win after pitching 5.0 innings, while allowing two runs on three hits, and striking out three. 
  • Joe Sabbath earned a four-inning save while allowing no runs on one hit and striking out five batters.
  • Sabbath, Rhode Island's primary closer in 2025, earned his first save of the season and ninth of his career. He is now tied for ninth-most in career saves in program history with Tyler Brosius (2016-20).
  • Jack Hopko went 3-for-5 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs. 
  • Danny Leikus finished 2-for-5 with a homer, two RBI, and two runs scored.
  • Reece Moroney went 2-for-5 with two RBI singles. 
  • Ryan Henschel had a home run and two runs scored. 
  • Ryan King's ninth inning home run was the fifth of the evening for the Rams. 
Up Next
The Rams and Billikens continue their weekend series with game two tomorrow, Saturday, April 25 in St. Louis, Mo. The game is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. EST and is available on ESPN+. 

 
Print Friendly Version