The university first held classes in 1892, as the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts.[1] Its varsity baseball program began play in 1898, going 6-2 in its first season. The program played two more seasons before going on hiatus from 1901–1906. It returned in 1907.[2] In 1909, the school was renamed Rhode Island State College.[1] After taking one season off in 1918, due to World War I, the program resumed play for the 1919 season.[2]
Prior to the start of the 1921 season, Frank Keaney was named the program's head coach.[2] In the preceding fall, Keaney had also been named the college's head football and men's basketball coach.[3]
On March 8, 1923, the Ram was adopted as the official mascot and nickname of the college's athletic programs.[4]
The program played 22 seasons in the NEC (1924–1943, 1946–1947), all under Keaney. During this period, in which the program had a 194-92-1 overall record, the program's highest win total came in 1937 (16–4), and its highest winning percentage came in 1933 (12–1).[2]
Yankee Conference
Prior to the start of the 1948 season, the Rams joined the Yankee Conference. The conference had formed has a result of Northeastern's departure from the NEC.[8] It consisted of the four remaining NEC members, along with Massachusetts State and Vermont.[9]
Frank Keaney retired as head baseball coach following the 1948 season. In 26 seasons as head coach, Keaney had a record of 222-113-1.[2] He also stepped down as the school's men's basketball coach at this time, in order to become Rhode Island State's athletic director.[3] Shortly thereafter, in 1951, the name of the school was changed from Rhode Island State College to the University of Rhode Island.[1]
The program struggled during its time in the Yankee Conference. After going 14-3 in 1949, its first season under Vic Paladino, the program had an above-.500 record in only six of 31 seasons. Two of these seasons, 1955 and 1956, came under head coach Bill Beck, who would step down following the 1959 season.[2] In 1966, the program's home venue was dedicated to Beck.[10]
Atlantic 10 Conference
Prior to the 1981 season, the program joined the recently formed Eastern 8 Conference, playing in the East Division along with Rutgers and Massachusetts. Following the 1982 season, with several changes to the conference's membership, the conference became known by its current name, the Atlantic 10 Conference.[11] Rhode Island made the transition under head coach John Norris, who had held the position since prior to the 1970 season.[2] In 1984, Norris led the program to its first postseason appearance, a berth in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. The Rams qualified for the tournament by finishing tied for 2nd in the East Division. In the four-team, double-elimination tournament, Rhode Island won its opening two games, 15-3 over West Virginia and 7-6 over Penn State. The team then could have won the tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament with a win over Temple, which had already lost one game. However, Temple defeated the Rams in consecutive games, 6-3 and 6-4.[11] For the remainder of Norris' tenure, which lasted through the 1987 season, and the entirety of Dave Morris' tenure (1988–1992), the Rams finished no higher than third in the East Division and did not qualify for the postseason.[2]
Following the 1992 season, the university hired program alumnus Frank Leoni as head coach at a time when it considered cutting the baseball program. At the time, Leoni was the youngest coach in Division I baseball.[12][13][14] His early seasons as head coach were poor. In 1994, his second season, the team had its worst season in the Atlantic 10 era, going 2-39-1 with a 1-22 A-10 record amid discussions of cutting the program. In the late-1990s, after the school decided to maintain the program, however, the team improved. In 1998 and 1999, the team finished tied for 3rd in the East Division. In 2001, it finished with an above-.500 record for the first time since 1984, going 27-23.[2]
In 2003, the program finished tied for 1st in the East Division and returned the the postseason for the first time since 1984. In the A-10 Tournament, the Rams went 1-2. In 2004, the program won the East Division outright and returned to the A-10 Tournament. After losing its opening game to St. Bonaventure, the team defeated George Washington and Richmond to advance to the championship game against St. Bonaventure. There, it lost 3-2.[2][11][15]
In 2005, the Rams won the East Division and the A-10 Tournament in order to advance to the program's first NCAA Tournament. In the conference tournament, the Rams went 3-0, defeating Dayton, Richmond, and George Washington to receive the A-10's automatic bid to the 2005 NCAA Tournament. As the #4 seed in the Long Beach Regional, the team lost its opening game to Long Beach State, 11-2. It then lost an elimination game to #2 Pepperdine, 2-1.[2][11][15]
Following the 2005 season, Leoni left Rhode Island to become the head coach at William & Mary.[15] He was replaced by Jim Foster, who had been an assistant at Brown from 2002–2004 and at Rhode Island in 2005. In Foster's first season, 2006, the Rams won the A-10 Regular Season Title.[2] In the A-10 Tournament, the team was eliminated after consecutive one-run losses: 3-2 against Saint Louis and 6-5 in 17 innings against George Washington. In 2009, the team set a program-record with 37 wins and finished second in the A-10. After losing to Xavier in the deciding game of the A-10 Tournament, the team was considered for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, but did not receive one.[11][16][17][18]
During an October 2011 fall workout, Rhode Island player Joseph Ciancola collapsed on the playing field and died in the hospital shortly thereafter.[19][20] During the following season, Ciancola was commemorated by both Rhode Island and his former high school team.[21][22]
Since the start of the 1966 season, the Rams have played on campus at Bill Beck Field. The field has a capacity of 1,000 spectators and has been renovated twice since 2000. It is named for Bill Beck, former Rhode Island football and baseball coach.[2] The site of the field has hosted Rhode Island baseball since its first season in 1898.[10]
Head coaches
Frank Keaney is the program's longest-tenured head coach, having coached for 26 seasons in two stints, 1921–1943, 1946–1948. Frank Leoni, who coached from 1993–2005, is the program's wins leader with 266.[2][11][23]
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
Conference regular season champion
Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
Division regular season champion
Division regular season and conference tournament champion
Conference tournament champion
^Peregolise, Adam (September 18, 2003). "Legend Of The Ram". Go Rhody. Archived from the original on 2011-05-26. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
^"Sports Survey". The Lewiston Daily Sun. Lewiston, Maine, USA. 24 December 1946. p. 17. Archived from the original on 24 December 1946. Retrieved 23 December 2012. The new conference is an outgrowth of the old New England College Conference on Collegiate Athletics founded in 1923, but has the University of Vermont and been extended by the inclusion of broadened by provisions for championship selection.
^"New England College Form Yankee Loop". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington, USA. Associated Press. 18 December 1946. p. 10. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
^ ab"Bill Beck Field". GoRhody.com. Rhode Island Sports Information. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
^"Marymount Hires Baseball Coach". SunGazette.com. 28 September 2012. Archived from the original on 26 December 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2012. Leoni took the helm at Rhode Island in September of 1992 as the youngest Division I head coach in the nation, inheriting a program that went 8-25-1 the year before and was set for elimination.
^O'Brien, Marty (11 February 2006). "Coach Making Do with More". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia, USA. p. B1. Archived from the original on 26 December 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
