May 22, 2008

Rhode Island 11, Xavier 4
Sophomore Oliver Palmer collected a game-high four hits and reliever Tim Boyce escaped a bases loaded, no-out jam in the eighth as fifth-seeded Rhode Island downed No. 1 Xavier on Thursday afternoon, 11-4, at the 2008 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship at Campbell's Field.

Seeking its first A-10 crown since 2005, URI (31-25-1) will take on the Charlotte/Duquesne winner at 12:00pm on Thursday. Xavier (25-30) will face Temple, Charlotte or Duquesne on Thursday at 3:30pm.

XU trailed 7-4 in the bottom of the eighth before it loaded the bases on URI senior Jamie Degidio. After Boyce fanned junior Sean Farrell swinging, he was able to get Xavier third baseman John McCambridge to ground out into a fielder's choice double play to retire the side. The Rams added four more runs in the top of the ninth and Boyce pitched a perfect ninth to secure his fifth saved and Rhody's 16th win in 19 contests this season when scoring at least seven runs.

"Timmy [Boyce] is our closer for a reason and we have a lot of confidence in him. He did an unbelievable job," said Rhode Island head coach Jim Foster.

"Xavier is an outstanding club and I'm real happy to advance and keep on the same routine for tomorrow versus either Charlotte or Duquesne."

Rhode Island jumped on starter Charlie Leesman for a pair of runs in the top of the first as Palmer and shortstop Dan Rhault delivered two-out RBI singles. Xavier answered with a pair of runs on the bottom of the first, however, as shortstop Jordan Conley doubled off URI starter Nick Greenwood to drive in sophomore Bobby Freking and second baseman Drew Schmidt.

The Rams would counter with four runs in the top of the second, highlighted by run-scoring singles from Palmer and senior Mike O'Malley, to take a 6-2 lead. The Musketeers would add a run in the bottom of the second on rightfielder Bobbie Kelley's third home run of the season and climbed to within 6-4 in the fourth as Conley scored on a RBI single by McCambridge. The Rams pushed their advantage to 7-4 as Rhault opened the fifth with a triple and scored on an RBI single by Palmer, his third run-scoring hit of the afternoon.

"I have been struggling a little the past few weeks and I just tried to keep my hands back and make contact and I'm glad I was able to get things going and drive in some runs," said Palmer, who ranks second on the team in hits with 64.

"We just want to keep things going tomorrow no matter who we play and keep advancing in the tournament."

URI senior catcher Zach Zaneski had three hits on the afternoon while O'Malley, Rhault and Rob Deveney added two hits apiece. Greenwood evened his record at 6-6 after allowing four runs on seven hits in 6.1 innings.

Leesman allowed six runs on seven hits and fanned two as he fell to 2-6 on the year. Conley collected two hits to lead the Musketeers, who are vying for their first-ever A-10 title.

Charlotte 13, Duquesne 7
Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Year Chris Taylor homered to snap a 4-4 tie as part of a seven-run fifth inning as second-seeded Charlotte turned aside No. 3 Duquesne on Thursday afternoon, 13-7, at the 2008 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship at Campbell's Field.

Vying to become the first program to win consecutive titles since Virginia Tech in 1999-00, the 49ers (41-14) will square off against No. 5 Rhode Island on Friday at 12:00pm, with the winner advancing to Saturday's final round. The Dukes (25-28-1) will take on fourth-seeded Temple on Thursday evening in an elimination game for both teams.

Taylor's league-leading 19th home run of the season, the highest single-season total since Richmond's Vito Chiaravalloti slugged 23 in 2002, was one of six hits in the inning by the 49ers off Duquesne sophomore starter Paul Bugajski (5-4). Senior O'Brien Taylor and designated hitter Rob Lyerly each added two-run singles in the fifth for the 49ers, who have scored in double digits in each of their last four Championship games, dating back to last season.

"We felt like we hadn't played for about a month and a half. We played Saturday versus Rhode Island and then had a really good practice Monday but Thursday's a long time," said Charlotte head coach Loren Hibbs, who has guided the 49ers to consecutive 40-win seasons for the first time in program history.

"Duquesne is a dangerous team and can really swing the bats and I'm just proud of our guys and their effort today."

Charlotte jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the third with five hits in the inning, highlighted by a two-run single to center by junior Alan Parks. The Dukes stormed back with four runs in the fifth off of 49ers freshman Joe Yermal, which included a two-run double by centerfielder Bill Torre and a RBI groundout by freshman Andrew Heck. Both teams scored two runs apiece in the eighth before junior righthander Sam Pierce pitched a scoreless ninth to preserve the 49ers' fourth consecutive win in the Championship.

All nine starters had at least one hit and scored a run for Charlotte, with senior Alex Burt and second baseman Corey Shaylor leading the attack with three hits apiece. It marked the fifth three-hit performance of the season for Shaylor, the 2008 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year.

"I felt real comfortable today. I was seeing the ball a lot better today than I have been the past couple games," said Shaylor, who ranks sixth on the team with 62 hits.

"I felt real good."

Charlotte freshman rigthhander Kelly McLain allowed three runs on six hits over 3.2 innings to improve to 7-0 on the year in relief of Yermal, who fanned four in 4.1 innings pitched. Senior Pat Kimutis and Morrison led the Dukes with three hits apiece, while Kimutis and leftfielder Mike Carroll each scored two runs.

Duquesne 10, Temple 7
Freshman Andrew Heck registered his second three-hit performance in as many days and third baseman Anthony Manley's two-run double in the bottom of the eighth proved to be the difference as third-seeded Duquesne rallied past No. 4 Temple on Thursday evening, 10-7, in an elimination game for both teams at the 2008 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship at Campbell's Field.

Vying for their first-ever A-10 crown, the Dukes (26-27-1) will face top-seeded Xavier (25-30) at 3:30pm on Friday in an elimination game for both teams. It marked the Dukes' 27th win of the season, tying a program single-season record.

Manley's clutch hit off Temple senior Arshwin Asjes (0-2) plated Heck and catcher Derek Mechling, who scored three runs on the evening. Freshman reliever Matt Zarin pitched a perfect ninth and improved to 2-2 on the year after tossing 1.2 scoreless innings.

Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth, Duquesne second baseman Bill Torre cracked a two-run homer off Temple starter Tom Dolan to give the Dukes a 4-3 lead. It marked the first-ever home run by the Dukes at the Atlantic 10 Championship. Duquesne extended its lead to 7-3 in the bottom of the seventh on a RBI single by senior Pat Kimutis and on the strength of an error and wild pitch. However, the Owls stormed back to even the score at 7-7 in the top of the eighth with four runs on five hits, highlighted by RBI singles from senior Stan Orzechowski and centerfielder Byron McKoy.

Making its first appearance in the Championship since 2002, Temple was led by Orzechowski, who went 3-for-4 with three RBI. The Philadelphia, Pa., native collected seven hits in 12 at-bats in the Owls' three contests. TU finished the year with a mark of 27-29, its highest win total since 1999.

Eight different Dukes recorded at least one hit on the evening, while Mike Carroll and Torre added two RBI apiece. Duquesne starter Gary Pierpont yielded seven runs (five earned) on ten hits while fanning six.