MANSFIELD, Conn. – After Rhode Island College senior lefty C.J. Tsoumakas became the first pitcher to throw a complete game against the Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team this year in the Anchormen's opening 4-1 win, sophomore righty Patrick O'Neill (Thomaston) tossed the Warriors' first complete game in the nightcap in Eastern's 1-0 victory that allowed it to salvage a Little East Conference doubleheader split.

At right: Eastern's six outgoing seniors were honored in between games of Saturday's doubleheader. Sitting (from left): Greg Porter, Nik Ververis, Brendan Lynch, Mike Vaccarelli. Standing (from left): Gavin Lavallee, Pat Barnett and first-year head coach Matt LaBranche.

Tsoumakas (4-3) of Rhode Island (11-15, 4-5 Little East) scattered four hits through eight innings and carried a shutout into the ninth before Eastern (19-6, 7-2 Little East) scratched out its only run on a leadoff single by senior Nik Ververis (Plainfield) and opposite field double by junior Kyle Hart (Guilford) and junior pinch hitter Brendan Germano's (Berlin) single through the left side.

The split leaves Eastern a game off the pace in the LEC race behind the University of Southern Maine. The Huskies lost their first LEC game, splitting with visiting Plymouth State University.

Eastern senior righty Greg Porter (Mystic) allowed only eight hits and fanned seven in eight innings of the opener but sustained his second loss against five wins. The first three batters of the game scored for Rhode Island and the Anchormen added an unearned run in the fourth on the way to snapping a three-game losing streak at the hands of Eastern.  The Anchormen used two infield singles, a walk, wild pitch and sacrifice fly for their three first-inning runs.  After a wild pitch and infield ground ball made it 2-0, senior Justin Rainville plated the final run with a sacrifice fly.

In his fourth career start, O'Neill (3-0) handcuffed Rhode Island on two doubles and three singles in dropping his earned run average below 2.00 to 1.54. In the first Eastern-Rhode Island College baseball game to be decided by a 1-0 score in 37 years, O'Neill fanned five and walked two. The shutout was the first by an Eastern pitcher since Evan Chamberlain and Tom Darby both whitewashed UMass Boston in a conference sweep last April 13.

O'Neill outdueled junior righty Kyle Morvan  in the one hour, 45 minute second game. The run allowed by Morvan was unearned and came in the bottom of the third on consecutive singles by sophomore Tim Budd (Cheshire), junior No. 9 hitter Joe Perez (North Branford),  senior Brendan Lynch (Wethersfield), and junior Corey Keane (Tolland). After Budd was picked off following a leadoff single, Perez singled up the middle and scored after Lynch's infield single to third was thrown away.

Morvan (4-2) limited Eastern to five singles, struck out nine and walked two.

Eastern hosts Western Connecticut State University Tuesday at 4 p.m. in a conference game.