Ravens use ten-straight unearned
runs to erase early 6-0 lead
RINDGE, N.H. (April 17,
2002) - Franklin Pierce used ten-straight unearned runs in
the fourth and fifth innings to help erase an early 6-0 deficit and
go on to post a 19-12 victory over Assumption College in a
Northeast-10 Conference baseball slugfest at Crystal Field this
afternoon.
The top four batters in the
Franklin Pierce lineup led the offense as they hit a combined
15-for-23 with four homeruns, three doubles, 16 runs scored and 17
RBIs in the contest. Junior rightfielder Dan Close
(Leominster, Mass./Leominster) led the way with a 4-6
effort, two homers, three runs scored and a season-high six RBIs.
Classmate Paul McAuliffe (Foxboro,
Mass./Foxboro) continues to swing a hot bat as he
finished 4-6 with two doubles, three runs scored and five RBIs.
Senior shortstop Scott
Loiseau (Worcester, Mass./St. Peter Marian) was 3-5
with a homer, five runs scored and four RBIs from the leadoff spot,
while sophomore Dante Blancarte (Amesbury,
Mass./Amesbury) was 4-6 with a double, a homer, two
runs scored and two RBIs.
Sophomore Greg Basile
(Suffield, Conn./Suffield) earned his second win of
the season (2-0) in relief as he held Franklin Pierce in the game,
allowing three earned runs on five hits with two strikeouts and a
walk in three innings of work.
Freshman Neil Harrington led
Assumption with a 4-5 effort at the plate, including a homerun,
three runs scored and three RBIs. Junior Mike Prior hit 3-5 with
his first homerun of the season, two runs scored and four RBIs.
Senior Jay Laganelli suffered the
loss as he yielded nine runs, just three earned, on 11 hits with
three strikeouts and a walk in 3.1 innings.
Assumption jumped on Franklin
Pierce starter Matt Weagle (Charlton, Mass./Shepherd
Hill) for six runs in the second inning, with Prior
belting a three-run homer to spark the frame. Senior Bill Bertrand
chipped in an RBI double.
Franklin Pierce closed the gap to
6-3 with a single run in the second as Blancarte doubled, advanced
to third and later scored on two wild pitches. Things could have
been worse in the third as the Ravens loaded the bases, but came
away with just a pair. McAuliffe singled in senior Eric
Burney (Rockville, Conn./Rockville), who led off the
frame with a single. Blancarte hit into a rally-killing double play
with no outs that scored one run.
The Ravens erupted in the fourth
with six unearned runs as Franklin Pierce loaded the bases on two
errors and a walk after Laganelli retired the leadoff batter.
Loiseau and McAuliffe each laced two run singles and Close capped
the inning off with a two-run homer.
After Assumption closed the gap to
9-8 in the top of the fifth, Franklin Pierce scored four more
unearned runs off reliever Joe Sposato in the bottom of the frame.
McAuliffe laced an RBI double to spark the inning, Close added an
RBI single and Blancarte capped the frame with a two-run homer.
The Ravens broke the game open in
the seventh with four runs with three coming off Close's second
homerun of the afternoon.
Franklin Pierce (15-13, 9-7 NE-10)
returns to action tomorrow afternoon when it hosts Fitchburg State
College in a non-conference battle at 3:30 p.m. Assumption (7-20,
4-13 NE-10) hosts Bryant College on Friday at 3:30 p.m.
