Gorham, Maine-Junior left fielder Matt Foley (Seekonk, MA) and junior designated hitter Angelo St. Laurent (Cranston, RI)each went 2-for-4 on the day but it wouldn't be enough as the Rhode Island College baseball team fell, 6-2, to the tournament's number one seed, Southern Maine, in Gorham on Thursday.
With the victory the Huskies (29-12) will continue their quest for a Little East Championship tomorrow, when they face the winner of the UMass Boston/UMass Dartmouth game at 3:30 p.m. The Anchormen (21-13) see their season come to a close with the loss.
RIC threatened in the top of the first with freshman center fielder Brad Douglas (Wakefield, RI) and Foley both reaching with one man down but USM junior lefty Tyler Leavitt (North Andover, MA)was able to get a 5-3 double play to end the inning with no harm done.
The Huskies started the bottom of the frame off with junior shortstop Sam Dexter (Oakland, ME) reaching on a one out walk. A wild pitch and a walk put runners on first and second with one down when sophomore third baseman Matt Bender (Walpole, MA) knocked a RBI single, advancing to second on the throw to the infield. The next batter, sophomore designated hitter Jake Welch (Londonderry, NH) extended the lead, smacking a RBI sacrifice fly to center field to up the lead to 2-0. Freshman left fielder Devin Warren (Smithfield, ME) extended the lead to three, 3-0, with a RBI double to center field.
Freshman reliever Jake Murray (Middletown, RI) came out of the bullpen, walked the first batter he faced to load the bases before ending the inning with a strikeout.
The Anchormen got one run back in the second inning when junior shortstop GianAbbruzzese (North Providence, RI) knocked a two-out single to right field to drive St. Laurentto make the score 3-1.
Southern Maine struck again in the bottom of the fourth inning with junior right fielder Nick DiBiase (Portland, ME) knocking a one-out triple, followed by a triple by Dexter to make the score 4-1. Sophomore first baseman Paul McDonough (Wells, ME) knocked a sac fly to left to bring Dexter home to make the score 5-1. A groundout to the second baseman ended the inning with the Huskies up 5-1.
The Anchormen cut into the deficit in the top of the sixth inning with Foley notching a single, then reaching third on an error by the outfield. With a man on third and no outs, senior right fielder Pat Rogers (Waterford, CT) ripped a grounder to the shortstop which drove in Foley. Leavitt would limit the damage however, getting the Anchormen to fly out to right field and strike out on the next two batters to end the inning with the 5-2 advantage.
Following a scoreless seventh inning, the Huskies went to their bullpen; calling on their senior righty, Andrew Richards (South Portland, ME), to get the last six outs. Foley opened the frame by reaching first base on a throwing error. Richards was able to sit the next three batters down, including two on strikeouts, to leave Foley on base with no runs scored.
The Huskies were able to tack on an insurance run in the bottom of the eight as McDonough beat out the double play throw at first base, driving in DiBiase from third base. Down to their final three outs, the Anchormen tried to rally, but Richards was able to get a quick 1-2-3 inning to close out the victory for the Huskies.
Leavitt picked up the victory (5-1) for the Huskies, allowing two runs, just one earned, on eight hits while striking out six in 7.0 innings of work. Richards picked up the save (9), going 2.0 innings, allowing no runs on no hits while striking out a pair.
RIC junior lefty Dylan Pingitore (Johnston, RI) (3-2) allowed three runs, all of them earned, on two hits. Murray pitched 4.0 innings, allowing two runs, both earned, on six hits while striking out four.
Abbruzzese and Rogers notched the two RBI for the Anchormen while Foley and St. Laurent each notched two hits. McDonough was 1-for-3 with two RBI while Bender went 2-for-5 with one RBI.