Baseball
Baseball Falls to Central Connecticut, 10-9, in Bottom of Ninth
March 31, 2009
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. - Rhode Island senior Dan Rhault (Lincoln, R.I.) went 4-for-5 with two runs and an RBI but it was the Central Connecticut baseball team rallying back twice to defeat the Rams, 10-9, Tuesday night at Beehive Field.
As a team, URI combined for 17 hits with each batter in the lineup reaching safely at least once. Rhault's four hits paced the team while sophomore Pete Mastors (Narragansett, R.I.) recorded three of his own. Sophomore Tom Coulombe (Lincoln, R.I.) went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and juniors Oliver Palmer (North Kingstown, R.I.) and Zoey Angulo (Miami, Fla.) finished with a pair of hits each.
The Rams (14-9) scored three unearned runs over the first four innings and took a 5-0 lead in the top of the fifth on Coulombe's first career home run.
The Blue Devils (9-6) made it a 5-3 game in the bottom of the frame, thanks in part to a two-run shot by Casey Walko. In his next at-bat, Walko drove in the game-tying run to knot things up at 5-5 in the bottom of the sixth.
Rhault led off the top of the seventh with a triple down the right field line and Coulombe drew a walk before advancing to second on an RBI single by junior Rob DeVeney (Marlton, R.I.). Sophomore Jeff Cammans (Jamestown, R.I.) followed with a sac bunt that advanced Coulombe and DeVeney, setting up Angulo's two-run double to left field. Freshman Milan Adams (Exeter, R.I.) then singled to right to plate Angulo and give the Rams a 9-5 advantage.
Central Connecticut continued to chip away at URI's lead however, scoring three more in the eighth before an unearned run in the bottom of the ninth made it 9-9 with two outs. Sean Allaire would then cross the plate on a wild pitch to earn the Blue Devils the win.
Senior closer Luke Demko (Gilford, N.H.) was charged with the loss while sophomore starter Ken Graveline (Prospect, Conn.) got a no-decision after striking out four batters with just one walk in five innings of work. CCSU's Chris Chagnon took the win, improving to 3-0 on the season.
The Rams are back in action on Wednesday afternoon when they travel to Brown for a 2 p.m. doubleheader against the Bears.
