Shank out-duels Bates for seven
innings; Ravens break it open late
RINDGE, N.H. (April 16,
2002) - Franklin Pierce jumped on top early and broke the
game open late to post a 7-1 victory over Pepin Division leading
Bentley College in Northeast-10 Conference baseball action at
Crystal Field this afternoon.
Junior right-hander
Chris Shank (Westminster, Mass./Oakmont
Regional) may not have had his best stuff, but
perhaps had his finest pitching performance of the season aside
from his season-opening no-hitter, in keeping the Bentley offense
at bay for seven innings. Shank (6-1) yielded just one earned run
as he allowed a season-high seven hits with a season-low four
strikeouts and two walks in seven innings of work to pick up his
team-leading sixth win of the spring.
Shank out-dueled Bentley junior
Derek Bates who yielded just two runs on three hits through the
first six innings before he was touched for five runs, four earned,
on six hits in the final two innings he worked. In the complete
game effort, Bates (2-3) allowed seven runs, six earned, on nine
hits with nine strikeouts and three walks.
The Ravens took a 2-0 lead in the
second inning, sparked by sophomore Dante Blancarte
(Amesbury, Mass./Amesbury) who belted a leadoff
homerun. Freshman Eric Cavers (Otisfield, Maine/Oxford
Hills) followed with a walk, but was picked off first
base just before classmate Bear Dunn (Charlton,
Mass./Shepherd Hill) smacked a homerun.
The Falcons got one run back in the
fifth frame as senior John DiGennaro poked a one-out solo homer off
Shank.
After the Ravens loaded the bases
in the sixth inning and failed to score a run, they didn't come
away empty handed in the seventh. The Falcons intentionally walked
FP
senior Scott Loiseau (Worcester, Mass./St. Peter
Marian) with two outs to load the bases and it
backfired as junior Paul McAuliffe (Foxboro,
Mass./Foxboro) followed with a bases-clearing double
on a 3-2 count and the runners in motion to put the Ravens up 5-1.
Franklin Pierce scored two more in
the eighth as junior Mike Callahan (Worcester,
Mass./St. Peter Marian) laced an RBI single and Dunn
scored as result of a Falcons throwing error on a fielder's choice.
McAuliffe finished the afternoon
hitting two-for-four with a double and three RBIs, while Blancarte
was 2-3 with a homer, two runs scored and an RBI. Dunn hit 2-4 with
a homer, two runs scored and an RBI, while Callahan finished 2-4
with a run scored and an RBI.
Senior rightfielder Steve Vickers
was a perfect 4-4 with four singles for the Falcons, while
DiGennaro finished 2-4 with a homer. Senior Kevin Lyons singled in
the first inning two extend his current hitting streak to 38 games,
matching the Conference and New England Division II record.
Franklin Pierce (14-13, 8-7 NE-10)
returns to action tomorrow afternoon when it hosts Assumption
College at 3:30 p.m.
| Teams
| 1
| 2
| 3
| 4
| 5
| 6
| 7
| 8
| 9
| R
| H
| E
|
| Bentley
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 1
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 1
| 9
| 2
|
| FP
| 0
| 2
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 3
| 2
| x
| 7
| 9
| 2
|
Batteries:
FP - Chris Shank, Scott Loiseau (8th) and Al
Medeiros.
BC - Derek Bates and Jamie Saccardo.
WP: Shank
(6-1)
LP: Bates (2-3)
HR: DiGennero (3),
Blancarte (3), Dunn (2)
