Zemotel recorded his first career homerun in the top of the ninth. (Photo Credit Crystal Ayn Hagberg).

KINGSTON, R.I. (March 20, 2024) – The Stonehill College baseball team's comeback effort in the top of the ninth inning would fall short, 19-15, at the University of Rhode Island Wednesday afternoon. With the loss, the Skyhawks fall to 4-9 overall, while the Rams improve to 5-12 on the season.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Junior Taylor Gaspar had a strong day at the plate. He finished a triple shy of the cycle after going 3-for-4 with a double, a homerun, and three runs batted in. 
• Senior Blaine Lidsky reached base in all four at-bats, working a pair of walks, and hitting his first triple of the season. 
• Graduate student Conor Kiely finished with a team-high four hits, including a triple, two RBI, and three runs scored.  
• Junior Dylan Zemotel recorded his first collegiate homerun for Stonehill. 
• Sophomore Pierce Friedman (0-1) started the game for the Skyhawks. In 2.1 innings, he struck out a season-high three batters. 
• Sophomore Michael Anderson had a career day at the plate for URI, finishing with five extra-base hits and 12 RBI. 
• Freshman Reece Moroney and sophomore Jack Hopko also drove home a pair of runs to help lead the Rams. 
• Sophomore starter Connor Johnston (1-0) toed the slab to start the game for URI. He matched his career-high total with six punchouts over 3.0 innings on the bump. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

Stonehill jumped out to an early two-run lead after the opening frame. A triple off the bat of Lidsky brought home both Kiely and redshirt sophomore Sam Parks from scoring position to open the game's scoring.

URI would take its first lead of the game in the bottom half of the third inning with three runs off an RBI single from Moroney and a two-run double into center from Anderson for his first of 12 RBI on the afternoon. The Rams would extend their lead to 6-2 in the fourth after extra-base hits from Anderson and junior Anthony DePino brought home a combined three runs. 

Following URI's six unanswered runs, the Skyhawks cut the deficit to two in the top of the fifth when senior Trey Ciulla-Hall laced a two-run single through the left side of the infield. However, the Rams would counter the Skyhawks in the bottom half, posting four unearned runs on the board to jump out to a commanding 10-4 lead. 

Both sides traded runs throughout the sixth and seventh innings, with URI outscoring the Skyhawks 9-5 over the two frames. With the Rams leading by a commanding 19-9 margin heading into the top of the ninth inning, Stonehill began to mount a comeback.

Zemotel started the frame, launching his first career home run over the left field fence before sophomore Evan Dieter and freshman Aidan Sengenberger battled their way to work full-count walks. With Dieter and Sengenberger aboard, Kiely stepped up to the dish and rifled a two-run triple down the left-field line, bringing the score to 19-12. Parks followed Kiely's three-bagger with an opposite-field RBI single into left center. 

With Parks on first, freshman Will Christopher—after entering the game the inning before—would work a four-pitch free pass to get two Skyhawks on base with a chance to chip away at the Rams' seven-run lead. Freshman Cam Morrison would step up to the plate and answer the call, lining his first career hit for a triple into right-center field, scoring both Parks and Christopher. 

However, the URI lead grew too much for Stonehill to overcome, as the Skyhawks fell to the Rams by a final score of 19-15.

Kiely matched his career high total of four hits on the day. (Photo Credit Crystal Ayn Hagberg).

INSIDE THE BOX & NOTES

• Kiely matched his career-high total of four hits on the day. 
• Ciulla-Hall extended his hitting streak to four games after going 1-for-3 at the plate. 
• Gaspar and Zemotel launched their first and second homeruns of the season, respectively. 
• The Skyhawk's mark of three triples was the first time Stonehill had recorded three in a game since April 1, 2012, against Saint Michael's College. 
• Christopher and Morrison each registered their first collegiate hits.
• Redshirt freshman Jake Lanzer made his first career appearance on the mound for the Skyhawks. 

UP NEXT

Stonehill (4-9, 0-3 NEC) hosts Northeast Conference foe Sacred Heart University on Friday in a doubleheader at Lou Gorman Field in Easton, Massachusetts. First pitch of game one on Friday between the Skyhawks and Pioneers is set for 12 p.m.

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