Isaac Bean
Anchor Staff Writer
Rhode Island College’s baseball team was on a roll. The Anchormen previously had an impressive 11-6 record going into these four games. The Anchormen had some tough losses during the week. The first of the two losses was to Johnson & Wales University and then to Wheaton College. The Anchormen suffered a defeat to Keene State in Game One of the double-header, before winning Game 2.
The first loss occurred to Johnson & Wales on Wednesday. The game went into extra innings, where the Anchormen fell to defeat in the tenth inning, losing 7-6. In the ninth inning, RIC third baseman Cal Parrillo hit a clutch, solo home run to send the game into extra innings. The Anchormen had some impressive performances in this game. Left fielder Joey Coro went four for five, with two runs batted in and Center fielder Cameron Santerre went two for five with a home run.
The Anchormen suffered another loss in a tough game Thursday versus Wheaton College. The game was not necessarily close, as the Anchormen were due for a letdown. The team was on quite the roll, and losing a heartbreaker can stop some of the momentum. The pitchers struggled to contain Wheaton’s offense, giving up 19 runs. Two of the runs, however, were unearned. The offense ended up scoring six runs in this game. Right fielder Sean Helfrich had an impressive performance. Helfrich got on base three times driving in two runs, while also scoring two himself. Coro had a great game as well, going two for five with a remarkable five runs driven in.
Unfortunately, the pitching was the downfall in this 19- 6 loss to Wheaton College. Helfrich
The Anchormen took on Keene State in a double header on Sunday, marking their first Little East Conference game of the season.
Game one of the double header was a pitcher’s duel, as both the Anchormen and the Owls failed to put any runs up until the seventh inning of the game. Keene State doubled twice in the seventh inning, plating the only two runs of the game. The Owls defeated the Anchormen 2-0. Shaun Gamelin pitched well for the Anchormen, going eight innings and giving up two earned runs on four hits and striking out 16 batters.
Game two started out much like the first game for the Anchormen, as they were held scoreless through the first six innings. Keene State scored twice in the third inning, maintaining a 2-0 lead throughout most of the game. The Anchormen bats finally woke up in the seventh inning, as they exploded for eight runs.
Helfrich opened the scoring with a single that drove in a run. Cole Podedworny doubled, scoring two and giving the Anchormen a 3-2 lead. Lucas McElroy reached on an error that scored two runs, and shortly after, Parillo homered plating three more runs. The Anchormen held an 8-2 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh inning.
In the top of the eighth, McElroy doubled, driving in three runs and pushing the lead to 11-2. Keene State scored once in the bottom of the eighth to make it an 11-3 game, but that would be the closest the game would come. RIC exploded for three more runs in the ninth inning, thanks to a Podedworny two-run homer and a Liam Flynn solo home run. The Anchormen crushed the Owls 14-3 in the second game of the double-header.
RIC plays again Tuesday, when they travel to Newport to face Salve Regina University.