By RYAN D. MURRAY

The Division I-A No. 3 Patriots fell to the Division I-B No. 6 La Salle Academy Rams 12-5 during the D-I Baseball Preliminary Round at Pilgrim High School on Tuesday.

La Salle shortstop Marcus Rodrigues led the Rams offense with two hits and six RBI, while Clyde Boutier, the first baseman, added three hits and three RBI.

Pats senior catcher Sean Gallagher topped the Pats with three hits and three RBI, and Cam Nadeau, the designated hitter, had two hits and two RBI.

Pilgrim took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Gallagher and Nadeau hit a pair of RBI singles.

However, in the top of the third, La Salle scored five runs and drew a 5-2 lead.

In the bottom of the third, Nadeau hit another RBI single, and then Aidan Ferreira scored during a double-steal, which pulled the Pats within 5-4.

La Salle and Pilgrim each added a run in the fifth, which gave La Salle a 6-5 advantage.

The Rams tacked on five more runs in the sixth, and one more in the seventh, and that earned La Salle the 12-5 victory.

“We hung in there,” Pilgrim head coach Nolan Landy said. ”It was back-and-forth. We made a few mistakes on the mound, but they hit the baseball very well. In clutch situations, two outs, they did a good job. That’s why they won.”

Pats junior Colby Barker started on the bump and took the loss after just 2 2/3 innings. Barker gave up five earned runs, on six hits, with one strikeout, one walk, and one hit batsman.

Ferreira came on to pitch for Pilgrim in the third, but the freshman didn’t fare much better. Ferreira, too, pitched 2 2/3 innings and he yielded four earned runs, on seven hits, while walking one, and striking out two. McConnell pitched the final 1 2/3 innings for Pilgrim and gave up one earned run, on one hit, with one strikeout, and one walk.

Patrick Jones, a sophomore, started on the bump for La Salle and tossed six solid innings and earned the win. Jones struck out three and walked three, with one hit batsman, while giving up five earned runs on nine hits. Rams sophomore Mike Mita closed the game with a 1-2-3 seventh inning and struck out two.

With the defeat, the Pats season ends, while La Salle moves on to play at D-I-B #2 South Kingstown on Friday against the Rebels.