The CCRI Knights’ baseball team opened their 2015 Region XXI schedule on Monday by traveling to the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, R.I. to play the Bulldogs of Dean College for a Dean College home game. The Knights went on to defeat a tough Dean College team, 6-4. With the win, the Knights improved to 5-4 on the season and 1-0 in Region XXI play.
Sophomore Austin Barry (North Kingstown, R.I.) led the Knights’ offense with two towering doubles off the right field fence and first baseman Diego Campos (Providence, R.I.) chipped in with a couple of hits. Dan Autiello (Orlando, Fla.) chipped in with three hits and co-captain TJ Boyajian (Warwick, R.I.) added two hits and a walk from the leadoff position. Also adding to the CCRI offensive attack was co-captain Eddie Apice (North Kingstown, R.I.), Ryan Rotondo (Warwick, R.I.), Casey Mack (Trumbull, Conn.) and Dave Hopkins, who added one hit apiece.
On the mound for the Knights, freshman Tyler LaMonda (Auburn, Mass.) picked up his second win of the season and first region win with six strong innings, striking out three and walking one. Sophomore Stew Braman (Middletown, R.I.) pitched flawless over the final three innings, striking out two batters to pick up his first save of the year.
The next games for the Knights will be this Saturday when they host the Pointers of UConn-Avery Point at 12 p.m. for a doubleheader.
Knights’ club volleyball is off to Nationals
The CCRI club volleyball team has qualified for the National Collegiate Volleyball Federation National Championships in Kansas City, Mo., which is set for April 9-11. The Knights will compete in the Division III championships against 34 club programs, which will include schools such as Penn State, USC, Ohio State, Michigan, Virginia Tech, Arizona and Arizona State.
CCRI finished third in the NECVL Division II Championships last weekend held at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Conn. The Knights entered the championships ranked No. 7 out of the 23 teams in Division II, but performed well to finish in third place after an excellent weekend of play. Freshmen Jake Johnson (Warwick, R.I.) and Jakeem Gonzalez (New Bedford, Mass.) were rewarded for their stellar weekends by making the All-Tournament Team. Johnson had four aces, 23 kills and 53 blocks over the weekend, while Gonzalez had 27 points earned and seven aces. Derek Lewis (Boston, Mass.) added a team-high 48 kills and Shawn Mulso (Scituate, R.I.) led the team with 79 blocks.
“Right now, the entire team has really come together and gelled as a cohesive unit,” Balboni said. “They each have a role to play and we are really looking forward to being a part of this.”
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