2005 Rhode Island Rams baseball team explained
Mode: | baseball |
Year: | 2005 |
Team: | Rhode Island Rams |
Conference: | Atlantic 10 Conference |
Short Conf: | A10 |
Record: | 34-21 |
Conf Record: | 18–6 |
Head Coach: | Frank Leoni |
Hc Year: | 13th |
Asst Coach1: | Jim Foster |
Ac1 Year: | 1st |
Asst Coach2: | Steven Breitbach |
Ac2 Year: | 3rd |
Champion: | Atlantic 10 regular season champion Atlantic 10 East Division champion Atlantic 10 tournament champions |
Tourney: | NCAA tournament |
Tourney Result: | Long Beach Regional |
Stadium: | Bill Beck Field |
Prev Year: | 2004 |
Next Year: | 2006 |
The 2005 Rhode Island Rams baseball team represented the University of Rhode Island during the 2005 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Rams played their home games at Bill Beck Field as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They were led by head coach Frank Leoni in his thirteenth and final year as manager.
The Rams won the East Division championship, notching a 34-21 (18-6) record.[1] In the 2005 Atlantic 10 Conference baseball tournament, the Rams clinched the top seed, and the bye-round, and defeated sixth-seeded Richmond and second-seeded George Washington in the championship game en route to their first-ever NCAA Division I baseball tournament as a four seed, where they were knocked out in the first round by top seeded Long Beach State and third-seeded Pepperdine.[2] After the conclusion of the tournament, Leoni accepted the job at fellow Atlantic 10 Conference member William & Mary to be the head coach of the Tribe.[3] The Rams would not make another appearance in the NCAA Division I baseball tournament until 2016.[4]
Background Information
The University of Rhode Island opened in 1889, following the Second Morrill Act, an amendment to the pre-existing Land Grant Act.[5] The baseball team was founded in 1898 and began to play on and off throughout the years before finding consistency in 1907.[6] Rhode Island had rarely featured successful teams throughout the years prior to Frank Leoni's hiring as manager in 1993. Leoni was a starter on Rhode Island's baseball team from 1988-1990, playing shortstop for the Rams.[7] When hired in 1993, he was the youngest head coach in modern history of NCAA Division I baseball. He immediately began a winning culture in Rhode Island.
Previous Season
The 2004 team finished 35-20-1 (20-4) overall, becoming just the second Atlantic 10 Conference member to win 20 conference games in a season.[8] The top seed overall in the 2004 Atlantic 10 Conference baseball tournament, the Rams lost to fourth-seeded St. Bonaventure in the first round before defeating second-seed St. Bonaventure and third-seeded Richmond in the losers’ bracket before falling to the Bonnies again in the championship game.[9] The Rams failed to clinch an at-large bid into the 2004 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.
Preseason
Rhode Island starting pitcher Zach Zuercher was named to Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's Second-Team All-American list.[10]
Preseason All-American Second Team. |
Player | No. | Position | Class |
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Zach Zuercher | 25 | P | Junior |
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Rhode Island was predicted to win the Atlantic-10 Conference and make their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance.[11]
Season
Regular Season
Rhode Island began their season on a rough patch, losing eight out of their first ten games to No. 12 Florida, Maryland, Central Michigan, IPFW, Sacred Heart, Kentucky and Miami (Ohio).[12] The Rams did not capture their first win until March 13, upsetting SEC member Kentucky 7-5. Rhode Island kept their losing skid going throughout the month of March. Once April hit, however, and conference play began, Rhode Island began a tear throughout their schedule. After going 6-11 throughout February and March, Rhode Island went 15-4 throughout the entirety of April, with highlight wins against division rivals Richmond, St. Bonaventure and Temple.[13] They continued their surge, with a commanding 12-game winning streak heading into the month of May. Rhode Island clinched the Atlantic-10 Regular Season title on May 14 with an 8-0 at Massachusetts.[14]
Atlantic 10 Tournament
After finishing 34-21 (and 18-6 in conference), Rhode Island would clinch the number one overall seed in the 2005 Atlantic 10 Conference baseball tournament. The Rams would not look back, defeating #4 seed Dayton 7-4 in the quarterfinals and #6 seeded Richmond 8-3.[15] In a rematch of the Atlantic 10 Championship game from the previous year, Rhode Island would defeat #2 seeded George Washington 9-7 to clinch Rhode Island's first ever NCAA tournament berth in college history.[16] [17] Second-baseman Wayne Russo would win the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, after going 7-11 hitting with a .636 batting average, two doubles and three RBIs,[18] and catcher Josh Nestor and outfielders Daryl Holcomb and David Savard would join Russo in the All-Tournament Team, with Nestor making his second straight All-Tournament Team.
NCAA Tournament
The Rams clinched the number four seed in the Long Beach Regional, joining number one seeded Long Beach State (hosts of the regional), second-seeded USC and third-seeded Pepperdine in Long Beach.The Rams' first taste of the tournament would be cut short, however, as an 11-2 defeat to Long Beach State in the first round, and a 2-1 walk-off defeat in the sudden death loser's bracket to Pepperdine would eliminate the Rams in the first two days of the tournament.[19] USC would wind up defeating Long Beach State to advance to the Corvallis Super Regional, where they were promptly knocked out by Oregon State, whom clinched a berth to the College World Series.[20] Following the tournament, Frank Leoni accepted the job at conference-rival William & Mary. Jim Foster would promptly be hired by Rhode Island to succeed Leoni.[21]
Game log
2005 Rhode Island Rams Baseball Game Log (34-21) |
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Legend: = Win = Loss = Tie = Canceled Bold = Rhode Island team member * Non-conference game |
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Regular Season (31-19) |
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Postseason |
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*Denotes non–conference game • Schedule source • Rankings based on the teams' current ranking in the D1Baseball poll|}Stats
Batting
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; BB = Walks; AVG = Batting average; SLG = Slugging average
bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="20%" | Player | bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%" | G | bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%" | AB | bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%" | R | bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%" | H | bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%" | 2B | bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%" | 3B | bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%" | HR | bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%" | RBI | bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%" | SB | bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%" | BB | bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%" | AVG | bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%" | SLG |
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Matt Sullivan | 55 | 208 | 53 | 71 | 14 | 1 | 13 | 43 | 10 | 15 | .341 | .606 | Scott Brown | 54 | 204 | 46 | 68 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 43 | 15 | 23 | .333 | .451 | Ryan Cunningham | 53 | 200 | 32 | 73 | 12 | 2 | 7 | 45 | 3 | 10 | .365 | .550 | Mike Rainville | 54 | 195 | 38 | 57 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 36 | 6 | 20 | .292 | .405 | Dave Savard | 50 | 174 | 36 | 50 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 21 | 10 | 25 | .287 | .437 | Wayne Russo | 54 | 166 | 36 | 57 | 13 | 0 | 4 | 35 | 9 | 32 | .343 | .494 | Daryl Holcomb | 48 | 156 | 44 | 53 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 23 | 15 | 12 | .340 | .449 | Josh Nestor | 51 | 155 | 33 | 47 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 33 | 5 | 32 | .303 | .484 | Joe Viscuso | 51 | 145 | 20 | 33 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 6 | 9 | .228 | .297 | CJ Simons | 30 | 63 | 15 | 19 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 4 | 7 | .302 | .444 | Chris Stelma | 25 | 54 | 8 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 1 | .278 | .304 | Zach Zaneski | 21 | 38 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | .184 | .368 | Shaun Hagey | 14 | 23 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | .304 | .348 | James Deady | 6 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .222 | .222 | Matthew Bruderek | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.000 | 1.000 | Team Totals | 55 | 1791 | 370 | 560 | 103 | 13 | 46 | 327 | 83 | 189 | .313 | .462 | | Source:https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/stats/college~2005~20466Pitching
Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts
bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="20%" | Player | bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%" | W | bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%" | L | bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%" | ERA | bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%" | G | bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%" | GS | bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%" | SV | bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%" | IP | bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%" | H | bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%" | R | bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%" | ER | bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%" | BB | bgcolor=#DDDDFF; width="7%" | SO |
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Zach Zuercher | 6 | 3 | 3.05 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 91.1 | 73 | 34 | 31 | 34 | 103 | Dan Frederick | 5 | 6 | 5.38 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 77 | 79 | 49 | 46 | 32 | 68 | Steve Holmes | 7 | 1 | 4.34 | 12 | 11 | 0 | 74.2 | 72 | 40 | 36 | 18 | 77 | Adam Perkins | 9 | 3 | 3.03 | 22 | 9 | 0 | 68.1 | 69 | 34 | 23 | 12 | 62 | Jim Norcott | 3 | 3 | 3.18 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 45.1 | 43 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 29 | Tom Venedam | 2 | 3 | 2.56 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 31.2 | 27 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 25 | Mike Lefort | 2 | 0 | 2.01 | 19 | 0 | 9 | 22.1 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 22 | Matthew Bruderek | 0 | 0 | 3.09 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 11.2 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 9 | Brett Palanski | 0 | 1 | 4.82 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 9.1 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 6 | Jamie Degidio | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6.1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | Dave Lipson | 0 | 0 | 7.20 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 5 | Gil Pena | 0 | 1 | 15.43 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4.2 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 2 | Mike Harris | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Mike Miranda | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | Team Totals | 34 | 21 | 3.75 | 154 | 55 | 11 | 451.1 | 424 | 223 | 188 | 141 | 420 | | Source:https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/stats/college~2005~20466Offseason
2005 MLB Draft
See main article: 2005 Major League Baseball draft.
Third baseman Mike Rainville and right-handed pitcher Mick Lefort were both signed as undrafted free-agents after the draft, by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays[23] and the Chicago Cubs respectively [24]
Awards
Atlantic 10 Conference Weekly AwardsPlayer | Award | Date awarded | Ref. |
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Zach Zuercher | Pitcher of the Week | April 11, 2005 | [25] | Adam Perkins | Pitcher of the Week | April 18, 2005 | [26] | Matt Sullivan | Player of the Week | April 25, 2005 | [27] | Zach Zuercher | Pitcher of the Week | Pitcher of the Week | May 2, 2005 | [28] | Pitcher of the Week | May 16, 2005 | [29] | | All-A10Player | Position | Team |
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| 3B | 1 | | DH | | RF | | CL | 2 | | C | | 2B | | 1B | Reference:[30] | | See also
References
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Notes and References
- Web site: Baseball_Records_thru2011.pdf . January 20, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20130619004417/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/atl10/sports/m-basebl/auto_pdf/2011-12/misc_non_event/Baseball_Records_thru2011.pdf. dead . June 19, 2013.
- Web site: 2008 Men's College World Series Records Book . January 20, 2024.
- Web site: Frank Leoni - Head Coach. January 25, 2024.
- Web site: Rhode Island Captures 2016 Atlantic 10 Championship; Rams Are NCAA-Bound. February 1, 2024.
- Web site: Detailed History - The University of Rhode Island. January 20, 2024.
- Web site: 2005 Baseball Media Guide For WEB. January 20, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20160105172112/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/uri/sports/m-basebl/auto_pdf/2005MediaGuide.pdf. dead. January 5, 2016.
- Web site: Tribe Head Baseball Coach Frank Leoni Inducted into Rhode Island Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. July 2, 2010 . January 20, 2024.
- Web site: 2005 Baseball Media Guide For WEB. January 20, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20160105172112/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/uri/sports/m-basebl/auto_pdf/2005MediaGuide.pdf. dead. January 5, 2016.
- Web site: Baseball_Records_thru2011.pdf . January 20, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20130619004417/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/atl10/sports/m-basebl/auto_pdf/2011-12/misc_non_event/Baseball_Records_thru2011.pdf. dead . June 19, 2013.
- Web site: Zuercher Adds To Preseason Honors; Named Second-Team 2005 Louisville Slugger All-American. January 2, 2005 . January 26, 2024.
- Web site: Rhody Baseball Picked To Win Atlantic-10 Title And Make First-Ever NCAA Appearance. February 2005 . January 26, 2024.
- Web site: 2005 Baseball Schedule - University of Rhode Island. January 26, 2024.
- Web site: 2005 Baseball Schedule - University of Rhode Island. January 26, 2024.
- Web site: Baseball Drops Opener Of Doubleheader To UMass 3-1; Would Clinch Atlantic 10 Regular Season Title With Victory In Second Game. May 14, 2005 . January 26, 2024.
- Web site: Baseball_Records_thru2011.pdf . January 20, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20130619004417/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/atl10/sports/m-basebl/auto_pdf/2011-12/misc_non_event/Baseball_Records_thru2011.pdf. dead . June 19, 2013.
- Web site: Baseball_Records_thru2011.pdf . January 20, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20130619004417/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/atl10/sports/m-basebl/auto_pdf/2011-12/misc_non_event/Baseball_Records_thru2011.pdf. dead . June 19, 2013.
- Web site: CHAMPIONS: Baseball Wins First-Ever Atlantic 10 Crown; Earns First NCAA Berth. May 28, 2005 . January 26, 2024.
- Web site: Russo named MOP as Rams capture first NCAA berth. May 31, 2005 . January 26, 2024.
- Web site: Baseball Season Ends With 2-1 Loss To No. 18 Pepperdine In NCAA Tournament. June 4, 2005 . January 26, 2024.
- Web site: Baseball vs Southern California on 06/13/2005. January 26, 2024.
- Web site: Jim Foster Named Head Baseball Coach. January 26, 2024.
- Web site: Zuercher Picked By St. Louis Cardinals In Ninth Round Of Major League Draft . gorhody.com . June 7, 2005 . January 26, 2024.
- Web site: Rainville Signs Free Agent Contract With Tampa Bay Devil Rays Organization. June 15, 2005 . January 26, 2024.
- Web site: Lefort Is Third Player Off 2005 Baseball Team To Get Shot In Pros; Signs Contract With Chicago Cubs. June 16, 2005 . January 26, 2024.
- Web site: Baseball's Zach Zuercher Named Atlantic 10 Pitcher Of The Week. January 27, 2024. April 11, 2005.
- Web site: Perkins Named Louisville Slugger National Player Of The Week; Atlantic 10 Pitcher Of The Week After Throwing No-Hitter. January 27, 2024. April 18, 2005.
- Web site: Sullivan Named Atlantic 10 Player Of The Week; Zuercher Tabbed Pitcher Of The Week. January 27, 2024. April 25, 2005.
- Web site: Baseball's Zack Zuercher Repeats As Atlantic 10 Pitcher Of The Week. January 27, 2024. May 2, 2005.
- Web site: Zuercher Named Atlantic 10 Pitcher Of The Week For The Fourth Time This Season. January 27, 2024. May 16, 2005.
- Web site: Baseball Gets Three Players Named First-Team All-Conference, Four Earn Second Team Honors. May 24, 2005 . January 27, 2024.