Kingston, R.I. – (March 30, 2019) – It was a wild day of baseball at Rhode Island's Bill Beck Field on Saturday afternoon, as Fordham and Rhode Island tried to fit in the final two games of their Atlantic 10 series. After almost 7 1/2 hours, things were not finished, as game two is tied at eight after 11 innings of action. Earlier, Rhode Island won game one by a score of 5-3.
The final game is tentatively set to resume at 10:00 AM on Sunday.
In game one, Rhode Island took advantage of two errors in the sixth inning, leading to four runs and a 5-3 victory.
Things started out well for Fordham, jetting out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
Jake MacKenzie led off the game with a solo home run to left center, hit first of the season. The Rams then loaded the bases on a walk to Bardwell and singles by
Alvin Melendez and
Nick Labella. After a strikeout, Bardwell scored on a fielder's choice by
C.J. Vazquez.
Rhode Island responded with a solo home run by Sonny Ulliana in the second inning, making it a 2-1 game.
It remained 2-1 until the sixth inning, when Rhode island struck for four runs to take a 5-2 lead. With the runner at third and two outs, Ulliana plated Greg Cavaliere with a single, while Laurence Hill tripled to right to give Rhode Island the lead. URI then picked up runs on an RBI-single by Kevin Heiss and an error for the 5-2 edge.
Fordham got a run back in the seventh when Melendez doubled with one out and scored on a single by
Matt Tarabek to make it, 5-3. The team then had their chance to tie the game in the eighth with runners at the corners and no outs in the eighth. However, a strikeout and a double play ended Fordham's chance to score and gave URI the win.
Anthony DiMeglio (1-2) took the loss in relief of starter
John Stankiewicz, allowing three runs on four hits with four strikeouts in 2.1 innings of work. Stankiewicz went the first 5.2 innings, giving up two runs on five hits with six strikeouts. At the plate, MacKenzie was 2-for-5 with a home run with Melendez going 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored. Tarabek also had two hits and an RBI in the game.
In game two, Rhode Island opened with a 3-0 lead by the second inning before Fordham scored once in the fifth and twice in the sixth to tie the game. In the fifth, Melendez singled home
Jake Guercio from second, after he reached on a hit by pitch. Then, it was an RBI-double by Vazquez and an RBI-single by
Jake Baker in the sixth which tied the game.
Nick Labella
Rhode Island regained the lead at 4-3 in the bottom of the sixth, but Fordham tied the game at four in the top of the seventh as MacKenzie singled, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a failed pickoff attempt.
The roller coaster game continued as URI scored three times in the bottom of the eighth to take a 7-4 lead, highlighted by a two-run single from Heiss.
Fordham then came back for a third time in the game, scoring four run in the top of the ninth to take an 8-7 lead. Guercio and MacKenzie led off with back-to-back singles and moved up a base on a ground out. Labella then ripped a single up the middle to score both runners. Bardwell then ripped a two-run home run to left, his second of the year, to give Fordham an 8-7 lead.
The lead was short lived as Rhode Island scored once in the ninth to knot the game at eight, following a Fordham error.
Neither team could break the tie through two extra innings, forcing the umpires to suspend the game due to darkness.
Through 11 innings, Labella is 3-for-6 with two RBI, while MacKenzie is 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a stolen base. Bardwell is 2-for-5 with a double, a home run, two runs scored, and two RBI. Fordham has used five pitchers in the game, highlighted by five innings of relief by
Gabe Karslo, allowing one run with six strikeouts.
