KINGSTON -- When the University of Rhode Island baseball team stunned eighth-ranked Miami, 3-0, at Coral Gables, Fla., on March 3 for the biggest victory in the school’s recent baseball history, five Rhode Islanders were in the lineup.

Sophomore Tom Coulombe of Lincoln was playing first base, junior Oliver Palmer of North Kingstown second base and senior Dan Rhault of Lincoln shortstop. Freshman Milan Adams of Exeter was catching, and sophomore Jeff Cammans of Jamestown was the designated hitter.

“I was pretty proud of that,” said head coach Jim Foster, a Rhode Islander who grew up in Warwick and played baseball at Providence College.

The 2009 Rams, 14-10-1 heading into a weekend series against Dayton, are as Rhode Island as Scarborough Beach, the Big Blue Bug and, okay, Del’s Lemonade.

 Eight sons of the Ocean State are on the roster, making URI baseball one of the few Division I collegiate programs in the state relying on home-grown talent.

 In addition to the five players who contributed to the upset of Miami, pitcher Chris Pickering of Lincoln, shortstop Luis Chacon of Coventry and outfielder Pete Mastors of Narragansett are playing. Senior Joe Abarr of Hope Valley (Chariho), a former backup catcher, and sophomore Matt Favicchio of Cranston (West) are student managers. Assistant coach Eric Cirella of Jamestown played baseball at North Kingstown High and Salve Regina University. And as a kid, assistant coach Idris Liasu, a native Nigerian, was always hanging around Hendricken Field when Foster played for PC. Liasu later played for CCRI and Bethany College.

After beating Miami, these Rams knocked off No. 25 Ohio State and split with No. 11 Oklahoma State. They were ranked No. 2 in New England before losing to Central Connecticut and to Brown last week.

Rhault is the best of the Rhode Island hitters on the 2009 team. Heading into the weekend series against Dayton he was hitting .368 with five home runs and 20 RBI. “He’s as talented as anyone on the team. He figured out how to hit last year and has been on fire ever since,” Foster said.

Palmer was hitting .327 with five homers and 13 RBI. “He’s as solid as it gets,” Foster said, “and what a leader. The guys elected him a captain as a junior. He has started every game since his freshman year. He’s a great guy to have on the team.”

Cammans had started every game and was hitting .295 with four doubles and two home runs. An All-State catcher for North Kingstown, he plays left field and first base for the Rams. Foster said he is “a lot stronger, and he keeps getting better. He came to us, and we are very happy to have him.”

Adams, an All-State catcher at Hendricken, was hitting .274 after 19 games. “He’s real young, but he’s doing a good job. He has a good arm and a good body. He will get better as the years go by,” Foster said.

Coulombe had started 21 games and was hitting .244 with six doubles. Foster described him as “a very good athlete” and noted that he was an All-State basketball player at Lincoln High.

Mastors, an outfielder, had appeared in 12 games and was hitting .359. He arrived in Kingston after a year at Worcester Academy. Foster likes his speed and said, “he was always a good runner.”

Chacon, a native of the Dominican Republic, played at CCRI before URI. The shortstop had appeared in seven games and was hitting .364. “Luis has had to overcome a lot of obstacles in his life to get where he is. We respect him for that,” Foster said.

Pickering, a left-handed pitcher, boasted a 3-1 record in eight appearances. Foster said, “He’s a very talented kid with a ton of potential; he just needs to put it together and polish everything up. He has pro potential.”

This is Foster’s fifth season with the URI program, his fourth as head coach. He joined Frank Leoni’s staff in 2005 and was promoted when Leoni left for William & Mary after the Rams won the 2005Atlantic 10 championship and played in the NCAA Tournament.

Leoni had rescued URI baseball from the budget-cutting block and built a successful program on the bats and gloves of as many Rhode Island kids as possible. Nine players from the Ocean State were on that 2005 championship team. Foster has continued the practice of chasing the best Rhode Island high school baseball talent. He had eight locals in 2006, five in 2007 and nine in 2008.

“We’re lucky,” Foster said. “We’re a little state, but we have a lot of talent.”

Lincoln’s fine Little League and high-school programs have produced players. Pitchers Mick Lefort and Stephen Holmes were key players on the 2005 team. Pitcher Matt Pickering and Rhault joined the Rams in 2006, and Coulombe and Chris Pickering headed to Kingston in 2008.

Warwick is another incubator. Infielder Wayne Russo of Toll Gate and pitchers Zach Zuercher and Gil Pina of Pilgrim were on the 2005 team. Catcher Dan Tucker of Pilgrim wore Keaney Blue in 2007.

Other Rhode Islanders on the URI roster since Foster arrived include outfielder C.J. Simons of Richmond (Chariho), pitcher Jamie Degidio of Narragansett, infielder Mike Rainville of Pawtucket (Bishop Hendricken) and catcher James Deady of Cranston (West), all members of the 2005 team; catcher J.P. Stone of Narragansett, pitcher Ryan Foss of Westerly (CCRI) and pitcher Robert Swann of Cumberland.