URI baseball wins game No. 11 against UConn

04/25/08 - The University of Rhode Island baseball team, after defeating the University of Connecticut on Wednesday 9-4, now has an 11-game winning streak."It's definitely a nice little streak," head coach Jim Foster said. "We need to keep doing the things we are doing. It's something the team should be proud of."

The Rams jumped out to a four-run lead in the bottom of the first inning. After two base hits up the middle, senior catcher Zach Zaneski hit an RBI single through the shortstop. While senior first baseman Mike O'Malley was up to bat, Oliver Palmer, who was on second, stole third and scored on an error. O'Malley hit a double to center, giving Zaneski the plate. There was a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly to send O'Malley home, leaving the Rams with a 4-0 lead.

Zaneski had two hits, scored two runs and drove in two runs on the day.

"Zach is a solid, outstanding player," Foster said. "He is one of the best catchers in the East. He is the leader of the club. He deserves any accolades that he is going to get."

Both the Huskies and Rams scored a run in the third inning, to chalk the score up to 5-1. The Rams also scored on a single by junior shortstop Dan Rhault. Rhault now has a 13-game hitting streak.

"He's a guy that if he hits it's really going to help us out a lot," Foster said. He added that the 11-game winning streak coincided nicely with Rhault's 13-game hitting streak.

UConn scored three more runs in the fifth, making the score a close 5-4 in URI's favor.

But URI put the game away in the eighth inning, scoring four more runs to take the 9-4 victory.

"It was a good win," Foster said. "We had a lot of contributions from a lot of our guys. They are playing the game with a lot more confidence. The guys offensively did a good job. I'm really happy with the way the team is playing."

Sophomore right-handed pitcher Dan Rossignol started for the Rams. He pitched five innings and gave up four runs on seven hits with four strikeouts.

"Rossignol threw well but got tired toward the fifth," Foster said. "The bullpen did a great job. They are the strength of the ball club."

Junior right-handed reliever Luke Demko came on to pitch in the sixth inning and lasted two and two thirds with two hits and no runs. Freshman Mark Fraser was called in to replace Demko in the eighth and he got the last out. He gave up a hit in the ninth before sophomore Tim Boyce was called in to finish the game.

The Rams will face La Salle University for a three-game series in Philadelphia. Senior Brett Palanski will start on Friday for the Rams, sophomore southpaw Nick Greenwood will go on Saturday and sophomore Eric Smith is set for Sunday.

"We are looking to continue what we've been doing in the A-10 with four weeks left," Foster said. "We've fought our way back. This weekend is important and we need to take care of business."

La Salle had two wins against Fordham University last weekend and lost to Pennsylvania State University Tuesday.

"They've been playing pretty good," Foster said. "We've got to keep going out and grinding.