University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
James Madison
No. 23 Baseball Overcomes James Madison, 5-4
03/26/2002 | Baseball
March 26, 2002
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - University of Richmond freshman Tim Rice threw the final 6.2 innings of scoreless relief to earn his first collegiate victory and improve the Spiders to 20-2 with a 5-4 win against James Madison at Pitt Field.
Rice entered the game in a jam with runners on first and third and one out. After walking the first batter to load the bases, Rice struck out junior Mitch Rigsby and forced senior Dustin Bowman into a fly out. The stand ended a three-run Dukes rally and kept the score 4-0.
The Spiders carried the momentum and scored two in the fourth on Vito Chiaravalloti's eighth homer of the season and three in the fifth on freshman John Cronin's game-winner over the left field wall. It was Cronin's first career home run. Chiaravalloti finished the day 3-4 with two RBI and one run scored. He has recorded at least one hit in 20 of Richmond's 22 games.
With the win, Richmond equaled its best start in program history (1995). The Spiders can stake claim to the all-time best mark with a win at William & Mary tomorrow.
James Madison started the scoring with a second inning Steve Ballowe home run. After Dukes starter John Gouzd (3-2) retired the Spiders in the home second, James Madison scored three runs off Richmond starter Jason Bolinski. After allowing a single to JMU's Eddie Kim, Bolinski was pulled in favor of Rice. The rookie from Brookfield, Conn. was stellar, allowing only three hits in his longest career outing.
The Spiders bats awoke in the fourth after two outs. Sophomore Matt Craig singled through the right side and scored when Chiaravalloti belted a home run to dead center field. Richmond trailed 4-2 after three.
Rice retired the Dukes in the fifth and Richmond responded with a three-run rally to take a 5-4 lead. The Spiders were helped by two James Madison errors that set up a first and third situation for nine-hole hitter Cronin. On a three-two count, Cronin turned on an inside pitch and laced his first collegiate homer over the left field wall.
Sophomore Adam Tidball went 2-3 while junior David Reaver extended his hit streak to 15 games with a seventh-inning single. James Madison's Mike Butia went 3-4 with a run scored. Gouzd suffered the loss, allowing five runs, three earned, in 6.2 innings.
The Spiders' season-long 10-game homestand complete, they will travel to Williamsburg, Va. for a 7 p.m. date with the William & Mary Tribe.
