Rhode Island used a three-run third inning and later plated the winning run in the top of the ninth inning to edge the Notre Dame baseball team 4-3 Sunday afternoon in Cary, NC. URI first baseman Pat Fortunato scored the eventual game-winner after reaching base on an error with two outs in the ninth. He scored two batters later on a single by third baseman Connor Foreman.
Notre Dame (8-2) scored the game's first run on an RBI single by Eric Jagielo in the bottom of the first inning. Jagielo's hit plated leadoff man Frank DeSico, who had walked to open the frame.
After the Rams (2-9) took a 3-1 lead in the top of the third, the Fighting Irish tied the game with a pair of runs in the bottom of the innings. Centerfielder Charlie Markson and rightfielder Zak Kutsulis each collected sac flies after Notre Dame loaded the bases with no outs to make it a 3-3 game.
Irish starting pitcher David Hearne allowed URI's first three runs in 7.0 innings. He gave-up six hits with six strikeouts and no walks. Freshman Nick McCarty (2-1) suffered his first loss while allowing the unearned run in 2.0 innings with three strikeouts.
The loss snaps Notre Dame's six-game winning streak that culminated with Saturday's 3-0 win over Virginia Tech. Rhode Island won its last two games in Cary after opening the season with nine consecutive losses. Those losses came to Florida State, Ole Miss and Mississippi State - three teams ranked in the top 20 in current polls and entered Sunday's play with a combined 32-1 record.
Notre Dame heads to California next weekend for its nine-day spring break trip. It begins on Friday against UCLA in the Dodgertown Classic. The Irish play the Bruins and USC at UCLA's Jackie Robinson Stadium before facing Oklahoma next Sunday at Dodger Stadium. The trip continues with a March 12 game at UC Santa Barbara and concludes March 14-16 in San Louis Obispo against Cal Poly.
