Medina drills gamewinning single in the 10th to lift Stonehill to comeback win in game one; Cavers homers, scores twice and drives in two to lead FP
in nightcap

EASTON, Mass. (March 30, 2002) - Franklin Pierce rebounded from a tough, 7-6, extra-inning loss in game one to earn a split with a 6-4 win in a game shortened to five innings after the game was halted in the sixth due to darkness.

In game one, Stonehill senior Junior Medina laced a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the tenth inning to lead the Chieftains to the comeback win. Stonehill loaded the bases with no outs in the extra frame with a leadoff walk from Craig Audette and back-to-back bunt singles from juniors Aaron Monteiro and Jon Ezekial to set the table for Medina.

Stonehill junior Dave Elliott led the offense as he hit four-for-five with two runs scored and a stolen base. Ezekial finished 2-5 with two RBIs, while sophomore Jason Reynolds was 2-3 with a double, a triple and a run scored.

Sophomore Billy Lynch earned the win in a third of an inning of relief. Classmate Mike Schlittler fired five innings of one-hit relief, yielding just one unearned run with two walks and two strikeouts.

Franklin Pierce took a 5-2 lead in the fifth inning as sophomore Dante Blancarte (Amesbury, Mass./Amesbury) and juniorDan Close (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) blasted back-to-back homers. Freshman Eric Cavers (Otisfield, Maine/Oxford Hills) ripped a double to score classmate Bear Dunn (Charlton, Mass./Shepherd Hill) and later scored on a single by junior Mike Callahan (Worcester, Mass./St. Peter Marian).

Close finished hitting 2-5 with a double, a homer and two RBIs, while Cavers was 2-5 with a double, a stolen base and an RBI. Senior Eric Burney (Rockville, Conn./Rockville) was the only other Raven with two hits as he batted 2-4 with a double.

Junior Jon White (Medford, Mass./Arlington Catholic) suffered the loss in relief as he was touched for an earned run on five hits with a strikeout and a walk in over an inning of work. Franklin Pierce starter Matt Weagle (Charlton, Mass./Shepherd Hill) allowed five earned runs on seven hits with a season-best nine strikeouts and two walks in 5.2 innings.

 Batteries:
FP - Matt Weagle, A.J. Hatton (6th), Jon White (9th) and Al Medeiros, Eric Cavers (8th).
SC - Brian DiRuzza, Mike Schlittler (5th), Billy Lynch (10th) and Dave Elliott.

WP: Lynch (2-1)
LP: White (2-2)
HR: Dante Blancarte (2), Dan Close (3)

In the nightcap, Franklin Pierce jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the third and held on to win a game halted in the bottom of the sixth with two runners on and one out because of darkness. The game reverted to the last complete inning game for the five-inning final.

Cavers had another strong game as he hit 2-2 with a homer, two runs scored, two RBIs and a stolen base. His solo shot to leadoff the fifth provided some insurance for the Ravens. Close hit 2-3 with a double, a stolen base and a run scored.

Blancarte earned the win with 1.1 innings of two-hit shutout relief as he struck out one and walked one. White got the start in game two and yielded four runs, three earned, on six hits with four strikeouts in 3.2 innings of work.

The Ravens jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first as senior Scott Loiseau (Worcester, Mass./St. Peter Marian) belted a leadoff double and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Cavers. Close followed with another double, stole third and scored on a throwing error on Stonehill catcher Greg Stack on the play.

The Chieftains struck for a run in the bottom of the frame as Monteiro laced a leadoff double and scored on a groundout by sophomore Pat Driscoll after advancing to third on a wild pitch.

Franklin Pierce added two more runs in the second thanks to sacrifice flies from sophomore Clint Daggan (Staten Island, N.Y./Curtis) and Loiseau. The Ravens scored another run in the third on a Mike MacSwain (Stoughton, Mass./Coyle Cassidy) sac fly.

Senior Jeff Rowe suffered the loss as he was touched for five runs, four earned, on five hits with a strikeout in 2.1 innings. Monteiro hit 2-4 with a double, while sophomore Joe Mastromonaco added a pair of hits for Stonehill.

Batteries:
FP - Jon White, Dante Blancarte (4th) and Eric Cavers.
SC - Jeff Rowe, James Shaughnessy (3rd), Billy Lynch (5th) and Greg Stack.

WP: Blancarte (1-0)
LP: Rowe (0-2)
HR: Cavers (2)

Franklin Pierce (6-7, 2-1 NE-10) is next scheduled to host UMass Lowell on Monday at 3 p.m. Stonehill (6-9-1, 2-2 NE-10) travels to New Haven, Conn., for a Conference doubleheader on Monday at Southern Connecticut State University at 1 p.m.