Providence, R.I.-Senior third baseman Tyler Santaniello (Cumberland, RI) and classmate right fielder Pat Rogers (Waterford, CT) combined for 11 hits, two doubles, one home run and six RBI to lead the Rhode Island College baseball team to sweep of Little East foe Eastern Connecticut in a conference doubleheader played at Anchorman field on Saturday afternoon.
Prior to the second game, the six Anchormen seniors: Santaniello, Rogers, pitcherDylan Cummiskey (Warwick, RI), pitcher William Dawson (Narragansett, RI),catcher Tyler Collins (Cranston, RI) and pitcher Joe Brooks (Pawtucket, RI) were recognized, along with their families, as part of Senior Day.
The Anchormen (17-7, 6-3 LEC) topped the Warriors (11-13, 4-5 LEC), 10-2, in game one and, 16-7, in the second game.
RIC struck first in game one when junior shortstop Ryan O'Dell (Lincoln, RI) notched a one-out triple. The next batter, junior left fielder Joe Yankee (Lincoln, RI), drove him in with a single up the middle. Yankee stole second, but back-to-back strikeouts kept the score 1-0.
Eastern struck in the top of the fourth when junior designated hitter Andrew Scully (Stratford, CT) knocked in an RBI double and advanced to third on the throw home. The next batter, senior second baseman Corey Keane (Tolland, CT), notched the Warriors' second straight double to drive in Scully and give Eastern a 2-1 lead. Cummiskey was able to settle down, retiring the next two batters to escape the inning only down one.
RIC erupted in the bottom half of the inning, plating seven runs on six hits. The heart of the batting order keyed the inning as O'Dell recorded a sacrifice fly RBI, which was followed by a Yankee two-run RBI double to give RIC the lead for good.
RIC plated runs in the bottom of the sixth and the bottom of the eighth to give the game its 10-2 final. Cummiskey went 6.1 innings, allowed just two earned runs on eight hits, and struck out five in the victory (4-1). Eastern sophomore Orlando Gonzalez (Montville, CT) went 3.2 innings in the loss (2-1), allowing seven runs on 10 hits, with four strikeouts.
Game two saw the Anchormen use a balanced attack to take a commanding, 16-7, victory. RIC scored in all but one of the innings and registered 22 hits in the game.
Yankee knocked in the first run of the game in the first when he grounded out to first to put RIC up 1-0. Junior catcher Matt Foley (Seekonk, MA) plated the next run for the Anchormen with a sacrifice fly to left field.
Eastern would plate a run in the top of the second, but RIC responded quickly with freshman second baseman Shaun Vigeant (Coventry, RI) driving in Santaniello with a sacrifice fly to center field. The teams remained scoreless in the third and traded runs in the fourth before the Anchormen would erupt in the fifth and sixth.
Following a two-run half inning by Eastern in the fifth, RIC responded with four runs on four hits in the bottom of the frame led by a solo homer by Vigeant.
The Warriors would plate two more in the top of the sixth, but a five-run home half would assure RIC's victory. The inning saw the Anchormen bat around the order with a two-run RBI double by Yankee keying the RIC inning. The Anchormen would score one in the bottom of the seventh and two in the eighth to give the game its, 16-7, final.
Freshman Jake Murray (Middletown, RI) picked up the victory (3-1), going 2.0 innings, allowing two runs on two hits with one strikeout. Junior Patrick O'Neill (Thomaston, CT) suffered the defeat (1-4), going 4.1 innings, allowing eight runs on nine hits, while striking out two.
In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will play at Springfield on Monday, April 20 (3:30 p.m.).