Baseball
Baseball Edged by Charlotte, 2-1, in Extra Innings
May 17, 2008
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Rhode Island baseball team dropped its regular-season finale at Charlotte, Saturday afternoon, falling 2-1 in 10 innings. The loss dropped the Rams to fifth overall in the Atlantic 10 standings, while the win earned Charlotte a share of the regular-season conference title with Xavier, which defeated George Washington (6-5 in 15 innings) this afternoon.
Rhody (29-25-1, 15-11-1 A-10) meanwhile, is slated to enter the A-10 Championship as the No. 5 seed and will meet fourth-seeded Temple (26-27, 16-11 A-10) in the tournament opener, Wednesday at noon at Campbell's Field in Camden, N.J.
Freshmen Jeff Cammans (Jamestown, R.I.) and Pete Mastors (Narragansett, R.I.) recorded URI's only hits in the loss to Charlotte, while junior Dan Rhault (Lincoln, R.I.) was the lone Rams to cross the plate, tying the score at 1-1 on a wild pitch in the third inning.
The Rams' best chance to take the lead came in the top of the sixth, when freshman Kenny Burns (Shelton, Conn.) reached on a fielding error by Charlotte's Shayne Moody. Burns then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Oliver Palmer (North Kingstown, R.I.) before stealing third base with senior Zach Zaneski (Waterford, Conn.) at bat. However, Zaneski lined out to first base for the Rams' second out before senior Mike O'Malley (Nashua, N.H.) struck out to end the inning with Burns in scoring position.
Still tied, 1-1, after nine innings, it appeared as though the two teams were headed to an 11th frame when Chris Taylor sent a two-out, 2-1 pitch over the left field fence to give the Niners the win.
Junior reliever Luke Demko (Gilford, N.H.) took the loss, giving up four hits and striking out four batters in the final 3.2 innings after sophomore starter Eric Smith (Milford, Conn.) allowed five hits and one run while fanning five in six innings of work.
Log back on to www.GoRhody.com for additional details on the 2008 Atlantic 10 Championship, or visit the A-10's baseball page by clicking here.
