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Providence, RI-Senior Jim Schult (Wappingers Falls, NY) and junior Jim Dimon (Seymour, CT) each hurled complete game victories as Eastern Connecticut swept a doubleheader from Rhode Island College in Little East Conference baseball action played at Anchorman Field on Friday afternoon. |
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Schult took a no-hitter into the eighth inning of game one as the Warriors came out on top with an 8-2 decision. Schult allowed just three hits and struck out eight to pick up his sixth win (6-1). Dimon (5-1) allowed just two runs on three hits as Eastern held off a late rally by the Anchormen (12-15, 3-6 LEC) to record a 3-2 victory in the nightcap. |
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Schult also did the job from the plate, going 3-for-8 with two runs scored, a double, one home run (5), four RBI and a stolen base. Freshman shortstop Danny O'Conell (Braintree, MA) went 4-for-7 with a one run scored, a double and one RBI. Junior catcher/outfielder Steve Cammuso (Rutland, MA) went 4-for-8 with two runs scored, a double and an RBI. Senior right fielder Rob Perry (Manchester, CT) went 4-for-9 with two runs scored. |
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Eastern Connecticut (25-4, 8-1 LEC) jumped out a 2-0 lead in the top of the first to start game one. With one down, Perry singled to right field and came home on Schult's blast over the left field fence. |
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The Warriors tacked on two more runs an inning later as O'Connell led off with a double down the left field line. Cammuso brought him home with a double of his own to almost the same identical spot. Senior center fielder Shane Kingsley (Beacon Falls, CT), who played outstanding defense on the day, singled in Cammuso to make it 4-0 in the visitor's advantage. |
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The Warriors broke the game open with a four-run fourth inning, led by an RBI double by Schult and senior right fielder Tyler Turgeon's (Norwich, CT) two-run single. |
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Schult was cruising as a no-hitter seemed within reach as he took the mound in the bottom of the eighth. RIC junior third baseman J.P. Stone (Narragansett, RI) led off the inning with a double that bounced off the base of the left field wall. With two down and Stone standing on third, junior left fielder Kyle Dumont (Pawtucket, RI) doubled to right center to spoil Schult's shutout bid. Dumont eventually scored on a Warrior error. |
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Senior Gary Levesque (East Providence, RI) took the loss (3-4), allowing seven earned runs on 10 hits, to go along with six strikeouts. Junior Eric Blanchard (Warwick, RI) turned in an excellent performance out of the bullpen, holding the vaunted Warrior offense to just two hits in four innings of shutout relief. |
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Game two was a much tighter affair as RIC freshman lefty C.J. Tsoumakas (Hope, RI) kept the home team within striking distance all afternoon. Eastern drew first blood in its first at-bat as Kingsley reached on an error. He stole second and came home on Schult's one-out RBI single. |
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The Warriors added a run in the fourth as Cammuso and sophomore third baseman Joe Balowski (Berlin, CT) notched back-to-back singles. O'Connell brought in Cammuso with the visitor's third consecutive hit to make it 2-0. |
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Eastern made it a 3-0 game in the seventh as Kingsley plated a run with a sacrifice fly. |
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The Anchormen began a comeback bid in the home half of the inning. Senior catcher Justin Corso (Cranston, RI) walked and Levesque singled to put runners on first and third with one away. Junior left fielder Brent Hopkins (Cranston, RI) cut the deficit to two runs with an RBI sacrifice fly. |
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In the eighth, Stone walked, stole second and moved over to third on a ground out. Allaire brought in Stone with a two-out infield single. Dimon set down the next four batters he faced to earn the win. |
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Tsoumakas took the loss (3-2), allowing three runs, two of which were earned, on eight hits in seven innings of work. Sophomore David Hoey (Lincoln, RI) closed out the final two frames, allowing just two Warrior hits. |
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Both games were completed in less than two hours due to Schult's and Dimon's impressive pitching performances. |
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It was a tough afternoon for RIC hitters, who went a combined 6-for-59 on the day. Stone scored two of the Anchormen's runs. |
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In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will continue Little East Conference action with a single game at UMass Dartmouth on Monday, April 25 (3:30 p.m.). |