No. 1 Rams cruise to three-game sweep of Bonnies

04/21/09 - The University of Rhode Island baseball team's (24-12-1) winning streak improved to seven games after sweeping St. Bonaventure University (16-15) at home this weekend.URI is now in first place in the Atlantic 10 Conference with a record of 12-2 in conference play.

"We got great starting performances all weekend," head coach Jeff Foster said.

Red-shirt junior Tim Boyce took the mound for the Rams in the first game of the series on Friday, boasting a 5-1 record with 45 strikeouts.

"[Boyce] pitched a great game," junior Oliver Palmer said. "We continued to score for him, giving him a lead to work with."

The Bonnies were unable to get anything going all day against him, as they were rendered scoreless in his seven innings of service.

The Rams on the other hand, attacked the opposing starting pitcher immediately in the first inning. Sophomore Pete Mastors saw his way to a leadoff walk, setting up Palmer to hit a two-run home run off of a changeup by St. Bonaventure's starter. The shot was Palmer's eighth of the season, giving him the team lead in the category.

"The pitching by St. Bonaventure was very backwards," Palmer said. "We saw a lot of off-speed pitches."

Rhode Island continued scoring in the bottom of the fourth inning, when sophomore Kenny Burns stepped to the plate with runners on second and third. Burns ripped the ball up the middle to plate both runners, but was thrown out trying to stretch the hit to a double, that ended the inning with the Rams ahead, 4-0.

The Rams grabbed another run in the bottom of the sixth when sophomore Jeff Cammans singled in sophomore Tom Coulombe.

Freshman Mike LeBel continued his successful season in the eighth inning with a two-run homer, extending the Rams' lead to 7-0.

The Bonnies did manage to stop URI's shutout in the top of the ninth, scoring two runs on a one-out home run off sophomore reliever Gardner Leaver.

Junior Nick Greenwood one-upped Boyce's start in the second game of the series on Saturday, pitching a complete game shutout, allowing just three hits.

"Greenwood was on fire," Palmer said. "All his stuff was on, and he was pretty much unhittable."

The Rams attacked from the start just as they had in the first game. Palmer hit a triple and tagged up to score on a sacrifice fly by senior Dan Rhault.

In the bottom of the fourth, LeBel tripled in a run and then stole home to give the Rams a 3-0 lead.

As Greenwood continued to shut down the St. Bonaventure offense, URI played some small ball in the seventh inning to add a few more runs.

LeBel led off with a single, and was moved to second on a bunt by freshman Milan Adams who reached safely. LeBel stole third, and then was bunted in by Burns who also reached safely. Adams and Burns moved to second and third on a sacrifice bunt by Palmer. Rhault cleared the bases for the Rams with a two-run double that put URI ahead, 6-0.

Greenwood finished the game with four strikeouts and just one walk, improving his record to 3-3.

"We look to win at least two games out of any series," Palmer said. "With Smith on the mound in the third game we felt we were at a great advantage."

During Sunday's game, the third and final game of the series, the Rams did exactly what they did in the first two games: attacked early. The URI offense tagged St. Bonaventure, pitching for six runs in the first inning.

The Bonnies continued to fight, scoring two runs in the fourth to cut the deficit to four.

The Rams responded in the bottom of the inning, on an RBI double by Palmer, extending the lead to 7-2.

The Rams tacked on a couple more runs to their lead in the bottom of the fifth. Coulombe hit a ground-rule double to lead off the inning and came into score on a sac-fly by junior Rob DeVeney. Later, on a bunt by LeBel, Burns scored to make the lead 9-2.

"It was a tough game," Palmer said. "We had to keep scoring to keep our lead."

The Bonnies kept cutting into the Rams' lead, scoring two runs in the sixth off junior starter Eric Smith.

Leaver came into pitch the seventh inning with a 9-4 lead, but was quickly taken out of the game after allowing a leadoff home run to St. Bonaventure.

Rhode Island blew the game open in the bottom of the eighth, scoring three more runs to keep its lead safe at 12-5.

"It excites me that we have things to concentrate on over the next four weeks," Foster said.

Senior Luke Demko came into the close of the game, getting through the ninth inning without allowing a hit.

"We are just playing one game at a time," Foster said. "Hopefully our best baseball will be at the end of the season."

The Rams continue action today against Sacred Heart University and tomorrow against the University of Connecticut. Both games are at home, and the game against UConn will be televised.

"We really hope we can get a good turnout for a televised game," Foster said. "We look to win both games.