University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Rhode Island
Boliek's Four Hits Paces Richmond In Comeback Win Over Rhody, 12-9
04/23/2011 | Baseball
April 23, 2011
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND - Richmond rallied with eight unanswered runs over the final three innings and beat Rhode Island, 12-9, Saturday in an Atlantic 10 game at Pitt Field. Senior Billy Barber launched a two-run homer in the seventh and got the save for the Spiders, while senior 3B Derek Boliek had four hits and scored four times.
Richmond improved to 20-17-2 overall and holds at least a tie for third in the A-10 at 7-4 -- a half-game up on Rhode Island, which dropped to 22-16, 8-6.
After scoring twice in the third to build a 2-0 lead, the Spiders watched the Rams bring home five runs in the fifth to seize a 5-2 advantage, and the momentum see-sawed from there.
The Spiders scored twice in the bottom of the fifth to pull within 5-4, but the visitors re-gained control pushing two runs across in each of the sixth and seventh innings to build their lead back to 9-4.
It was all Spiders after that as Richmond finished 6-for-11 with runners in scoring position, after going 0-for-20 over their last two contests.
Barber's 35th career home run - a two-run shot over the 360-foot sign in right-center - highlighted a three-run seventh inning that made the score 9-7 and the floodgates opened when Richmond scored five times in eighth to take the lead for good.
Junior C Bryan Conway got the wild eighth inning started with a single and freshman 2B Chris Bell reached on a hit-by-pitch. Conway scored when Boliek doubled off the right-field wall and Matt Zink was intentionally walked to load the bases with one out.
In the next at-bat, freshman SS JB Gadd dropped a squeeze bunt that was fielded by URI pitcher Dan Johnson and fired wide of the catcher, allowing Bell to score as the tying run and Boliek to score as the go-ahead tally. Mike Mergenthaler and Bret Williams followed later in the frame with RBI singles to tack on insurance.
URI reliever Rob Curran recorded just one out in the eighth, was on the hook for three runs and was pinned the loss (0-1). Starter Ken Graveline was denied the win after turning a 9-4 lead over to his bullpen with one out in the seventh.
Cafagna fired 2.1 innings of relief for the Spiders and allowed two runs in the seventh, but retired the Rams in order in the eighth to put himself in line for the victory (5-3).
Barber closed out his second save by working around a one-out single, getting Milan Adams to fly out and rolling a ground out from Dan Haverstick for the final out.
Boliek's four hits tied a career high, while his four runs set a career-best for the redshirt-junior from Hickory, N.C. Mergenthaler and Williams each had two of the Spiders' 14 hits.
The rubber-match of the three-game series is set for Sunday at 12 p.m.
