HOUSTON – After HBU tied the game in the bottom of the eight, Rhode Island's Brett McManus came through with the game-winning RBI in the ninth as the Rams clipped the Huskies, 5-4, in the four-game series opener Friday afternoon at Husky Field.
Senior catcher
Blake Thomas went 3-for-4 with double and had all four RBIs for HBU (3-2). Junior shortstop
Tyler Depreta-Johnson went 2-for-3 and senior rightfielder
Brandon Brintz was 1-forr-3, with two walks and a pair of runs.
McManus was 1-for-1, with a walk, a hit by pitch, drove in two runs and scored for URI (2-2). Greg Cavaliere went 2-for-4 with a double, drove in two and scored once for the Rams.
Senior righthander
JT Jakubik (0-1) took the loss for HBU, allowing one run on two hits with two strikeouts and a walk in 2.0 innings. Senior lefty
Christian Thames took his second no-decision of the season, allowing four runs, three earned, on five hits with two punchouts and a walk in 5.0 innings. Junior righthander
Cody Marshall tossed two scoreless innings with two strikeouts.
Vitaly Jangols (1-0) picked up the win, allowing one run on three hits with a strikeout in 2.0 innings. Tyler Barss earned his first save, allowing a walk, but no runs in the ninth. Starter Tyler Wilson gave up three runs on four hits with three strikeouts and four walks in 6.0 innings, but did not factor into the decision.
The Huskies struck first as Wilson walked the bases loaded with two outs. Thomas lifted a fly ball to right, but rightfielder Sam Ilario lost it in the sun and Thomas wound up with a three-run double.
Sonny Ulliana led off the second with a double for URI, but was thrown out on a ground ball to short. He stayed in a rundown long enough for Mike Corin to reach second. Ilario then reached on an error, and McManus lifted a sacrifice fly to right to cut HBU's lead to 3-1.
In the fifth, Ilario led off with single, McManus walked, and both runners moved up on a sacrifice bunt by Laurence Hill. Cavaliere smashed a double into the leftfield corner to tie the game, then Chris Hess delivered an RBI single to give the Rams their first lead of the game.
HBU had been shut out for six innings, but Brintz led off the eighth with a single up the middle and went to second on a sacrifice bunt by senior third baseman
Austin Zillweger. After senior leftfielder
Joe Van Marter flied out to center, Brintz went to third on a balk and junior first baseman
Jake Pulcheon was hit by pitch. Thomas came through with a base hit to right to tie the game, 4-4.
Jakubik got the first two outs in the ninth, but walked Mike Foley. Foley then stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI single up the middle by McManus.
Depreta-Johnson drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the ninth, and advanced to third on two-straight wild pitches by Barrs. Junior centerfielder
Spencer Halloran grounded out to short on a drawn in infield, holding Depreta-Johnson at third and Brintz ground out to first to end the game.
The series continues with a doubleheader Saturday at 11 a.m., followed by the series finale Sunday at 12:30 p.m. at Husky Field.
