Baseball stays hot at home, takes two from La Salle
Kyle Towne
Issue date: 4/14/09 Section: Sports
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"The guys did a good job of working on the things we worked on at practice," head coach Jim Foster said.
Junior Oliver Palmer continued his leadership of the Rams' offense, going 5-for-8 with two home runs and four RBI's.
"He's hitting the ball all over the ballpark," Foster said. "He's really playing well."
Starting for the Rams was red shirt junior Tim Boyce, who is 4-1 this season. He got through the first inning without allowing a run despite a two-out double by the Explorers.
The Rams were able to get a runner to second in their half of the inning, but were unable to hit him in.
Both teams were unable to produce any runs in the second inning, sending the game to the third with no score.
"The pitching has been alright and the batting could be better," Foster said. "We just need to continue improvements in everything."
Boyce continued to control the game in the third, striking out two as he set the side down in order. The Rams got their offense going with two outs in the bottom of the third, starting with sophomore Pete Mastors reaching on an error. Mastors was moved to second on a single by Palmer, and came into score on a single by senior Dan Rhault.
The Explorers responded in the top of the fourth, scoring on a sacrifice fly to tie the game 1-1. They kept it going in the fifth, tacking on another run with a single to take a 2-1 lead.
The Rams regained control of the game in the bottom of the sixth with another two-out rally. With a runner on second, the Rams earned back-to-back walks to load the bases for sophomore Kenny Burns. Burns ripped a triple to score all three runners and give URI a 4-2 lead.
Boyce quickly retired La Salle's offense in the seventh, earning a 1-2-3 inning in his last inning of work.
Rhody blew the game open in the bottom of the inning, beginning with a leadoff homer by Palmer. Sophomore Tom Coulombe followed up with a double, and was immediately singled in by junior Rob DeVeney. DeVeney then stole second and third in consecutive pitches, setting up an RBI single by sophomore Jeff Cammans.
La Salle scored three runs in the top of the eighth to close in on URI's lead, but it proved to be too little too late. URI responded with two more runs in the bottom of the inning, and senior closer Luke Demko shut the door in the ninth to end the game at 9-5 in URI's favor.
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