KINGSTON, R.I. - Rhode Island scored four runs in the first two innings of game one. After that, it was all La Salle.
The Explorers scored eight unanswered runs to take the opener 8-4 and won the nightcap, 9-0, to sweep a doubleheader from the host Rams on Saturday afternoon. The Blue and Gold pitching staff of junior
Val Buehler and sophomore Mackenzie Peace threw 10.1 consecutive scoreless innings to pick up victories.
Junior
Christina Bascara had three hits and drove in four runs, while classmate
Suzanne Swanicke homered and knocked in two.
"It was a great day for our pitchers," head coach
Ron Shoemaker said. "After the second inning, they threw 10 innings of shutout ball."
Game one
The Rams scored a pair of runs in the first and second innings, taking advantage of three La Salle errors which made three of the runs unearned.
La Salle (16-28, 6-14 A-10) slowly chipped away at the URI lead. Sophomore
Mackenzie Obert plated a run on a fielder's choice in the third and an RBI double by senior
Erica Reis made it 4-2 in the fourth.
A four-run fifth inning gave the Explorers the lead. Junior Lindsay Gaines knocked in a run on a sacrifice fly and senior
Kendra Heyer (two doubles in the contest) walked in a run to tie things up.
Reis drove in her second run of the game on a single to put the Explorers ahead and a bases-loaded walk to sophomore Bridget Magee made it 6-4.
Meanwhile, Buehler kept the Rams off the board. She recorded her first victory of the season with 5.1 innings of scoreless relief. She scattered four hits, struck out two and didn't walk a batter.
Swanicke's two-run homer in the sixth gave La Salle some insurance.
Game two
Peace threw a five-inning one-hitter for her third win of the season in the 9-0 victory. She walked two and fanned two. The only URI (12-31, 3-17 A-10) hit was an infield single in the third.
The offense continued its torrid pace, scoring six runs in the first three innings. A two-run single by Bascara opened things up in the first and she walked in a run in the third before freshman
Emma Schweigert's two-run single made it 5-0.
An RBI single by junior
Kristin Martin made it 6-0 before a three-run fifth. Junior
Michelle Hagarty had an RBI triple and Bascara had her fourth RBI on a single. Obert scored on the play as well on an error.
The series concludes on Sunday at noon.