The University of Rhode Island baseball team bounced back in conference play with a series win against the University of Massachusetts over the weekend before taking down Boston College on Wednesday.

With UMass moving to the Mid-Atlantic Conference next year, this weekend marked the final series between the teams in Atlantic 10 Conference play after over 200 matchups dating back to 1907.

“It’s a team that we’ve played for probably over 100 years; it’s a team I played against when I played at URI,” Rhode Island Head Coach Raphael Cerrato said. “It’s a shame that they’re leaving, I think it’s ridiculous that they’re going to that conference.”

URI fell 6-3 to open Friday’s doubleheader. Third-year Jeremy Urena took his first loss of the season as he allowed six runs across the second and third innings. Three of the runs were unearned as the Rams made two errors in the second inning.

“I don’t feel like we were ready to play,” Cerrato said. “It was kind of a tough travel situation, and getting up early, we just didn’t play a good baseball game.”

Rhody bounced back in game two, picking up a 13-1 win, followed by a 17-6 victory on Saturday. Despite the dominant final score, the Rams had to fight hard to secure the series win.

“I was really proud of coming back and putting it on them in game two,” Cerrato said. “It’s huge, taking two out of three as opposed to losing two out of three is major.”

Rhode Island won game two behind fifth-year pitcher Trystan Levesque’s six scoreless innings. Third-year designated hitter Jack Hopko drilled a three-run opposite field home run, and fourth-year outfielder Eric Genther scored three times in a 2-4 day at the plate.

Genther brought his hot bat over to Saturday, crossing the plate another three times while going 3-5 with five RBIs and a homer.

“It just helps build your confidence up,” Genther said. “It gives you a mentality that every time you go up to the plate, you have a chance to do something positive to help the team.”

Second-year Scott Penney gave URI the lead on Saturday with a two-RBI double in the eighth, but UMass responded to tie in the bottom half. Second-year Joe Sabbath stranded the go-ahead run on second base, striking out both batters he faced.

For Sabbath, it was his first appearance after two blown saves on March 22 and 23.

“I don’t know if he really lost a ton of confidence, because he’s a confident kid,” Cerrato said. “He came in and was awesome.”

Still tied, URI fed off Sabbath’s performance to put across 11 runs in the ninth and bring the game well out of reach.

“It really can’t be stated enough how important momentum is, especially in games like that,” Genther said. “We know our offense has the potential to really erupt any inning.”

After the weekend, Rhode Island sat tied for 12th in the nation in scoring. The team averaged 9.4 runs per game, in part thanks to their conference-leading walk totals.

“We’ve just been really disciplined,” Cerrato said. “It’s stuff we’ve been working on all year since the fall, and it’s paying off with consistently having base runners.”

In the midweek game, the Rams jumped out to an early 6-0 lead and held on in an 11-9 barn burner.

With URI leading 6-0, the sixth inning belonged to BC; with the bases loaded and nobody out, the Eagles plated three runs. A double play, thanks to runner interference, got the Rams out of the jam to stay in front.

BC took the lead for the first time in the eighth with four more runs, however Rhody responded in the ninth on a bases-clearing triple from Penney to tie the game.

The Rams took the lead for good in the 10th inning, securing their first extra-innings win of the year. With the bases loaded, two walks built a two-run lead that second-year Zach Morris was able to hold onto in the bottom half to secure the victory.

The Rams sit 6-3 in conference play, tied for second place in the A-10 standings.

“It’s just [about] trying to compile wins,” Cerrato said. “In my mind, there’s a certain number that should guarantee a spot in the tournament, and I just want to get to that number.”

Rhody returns to conference play this weekend against the University of Richmond. The second leg of Friday’s doubleheader and Sunday’s game will broadcast on ESPN+, with radio broadcasts for both games on RIU2.org on Friday.

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