Spiders Drop Series Opener Against Rhode Island

Thursday, May 19

Richmond, Va.

2 PM

University of Richmond

24-24, 9-13

Rhode Island

20-31, 14-8

Rhode Island

Richmond

05/19/2022 | Baseball

Box Score

RICHMOND, Va. – The University of Richmond came back from a four-run deficit in the first inning to take the lead from the University of Rhode Island in the fifth, but the Spiders were unable to answer a late surge by the Rams, falling 9-7 Thursday at Pitt Field in the Atlantic 10 Conference series opener.

Richmond moves to 24-24 on the season and 9-13 in A-10 action while Rhode Island improves to 14-31 on the year and 14-8 in league action.

Game two of the series will now begin Friday at 11 a.m. due to forecasted high temperatures in the area. Prior to first pitch, Senior Day festivities will begin at 10:20 a.m., as Richmond will be honoring seven seniors and graduate students: Winston Allen, Antonio Balducci, Jack Buckley, Jesse Heikkinen, Eli Kimbell, Sammy Senders and Dominic Toso.

Richmond starter Brock Weirather (Polk City, Fla.) battled back on the mound after allowing four runs in the first inning to Rhode Island, only giving up one more run over the next five innings of work. Weirather allowed five runs, four earned, on six hits and three walks while striking out three in six total innings on the hill for the Spiders.

The Spiders answered in the bottom of the first, getting back two runs on a two-RBI double by Jason Neff (West Palm Beach, Fla.). With the hit, Neff extended his hit streak to a current team high nine-straight games.

Jared Sprague-Lott (Philadelphia, Pa.) put the Spiders within two at 5-3 with a solo home run to left field in the third, his fifth of the year.

In the fourth, D.J. Pacheco (Danvers, Mass.) and Christian Beal (Flossmoor, Ill.) both got base hits to reach, while Alden Mathes (Broomall, Pa.) doubled and Dominic Toso (Philadelphia, Pa.) got hit to load the bases with one out. Jake Elbeery (North Andover, Mass.) battled to knock out the Rhode Island starter with a two-RBI base hit through the infield to tie the game at 5-all.

With two outs and one on in the fifth, Beal doubled to tally his third hit of the game and put two runners in scoring position. Mathes followed with a base hit to right field to pick up Zach Lass (Mechanicsville, Va.) and Beal to give Richmond the lead.

Esteban Rodriguez (Doral, Fla.) took over for the Spiders on the mound in the seventh. Rodriguez relinquished the Spiders lead, allowing three runs on two hits, a walk and a hit batter without recording an out to get tagged with the loss. Eli Larson (Mill Valley, Calif.) followed on the mound, allowing one run on three hits and a walk with three strikeouts in three innings of work.