Shank masterful in game one with
career-high 17 strikeouts Ravens bomb Penmen in nightcap behind
ten-run second inning
RINDGE, N.H. (April 7,
2002) - Franklin Pierce swept a doubleheader with instate
rival Southern New Hampshire University in Northeast-10 Conference
baseball action at Crystal Field this afternoon. Franklin Pierce
registered a 7-4 decision in game one, before exploding for a 17-6
triumph in the nightcap.
In the first game, junior
righthanderChris Shank (Westminster, Mass./Oakmont
Regional) made a run at former Franklin Pierce
lefthander Justin Blood's Conference and school record of 20
strikeouts set against SNHU last season as he fanned a career-high
17 to lead the Ravens to victory. Shank (4-1) yielded four runs,
just two earned, on five hits and just one walk to earn his fourth
win and third complete game of the season. He struck out the side
five times on the afternoon and fanned seven in a row during one
stretch.
Southern New Hampshire did strike
first as it jumped ahead 2-0 in the first inning, thanks to a pair
of Franklin Pierce errors. Senior Nick Nugent rapped an RBI single
during the frame.
The Ravens answered in the third
with three runs as junior Paul McAuliffe (Foxboro,
Mass./Foxboro) singled to score senior
Scott Loiseau (Worcester, Mass./St. Peter
Marian) who led off the inning with a double.
Sophomore Dante Blancarte (Amesbury,
Mass./Amesbury) followed three batters later with a
two-run double to put Franklin Pierce
up 3-2.
Southern New Hampshire knotted the
score in the sixth as senior Ryan Paradise led off with a double
and later scored when freshman Mike Bernard reached on a fielder's
choice.
The Ravens regained the lead for
good in the seventh with four runs. After the first three batters
reached base, McAuliffe scored on a Jason Paul wild pitch and then
freshman Bear Dunn (Charlton, Mass./Shepherd
Hills) drove in a pair with a single up the middle.
Dunn later scored FPC's final run
on a delayed steal with Mike Callahan (Worcester,
Mass./St. Peter Marian). Dunn batted two-for-four
with a stolen base and two RBIs to spark the Franklin Pierce
offense. McAuliffe finished 2-3 with a steal, two runs scored and
an RBI, while Blancarte hit 1-4 with a double and two RBIs.
Callahan and freshman Eric Cavers (Otisfield,
Maine/Oxford Hills) each added a pair of hits,
including a double for Callahan.
Paul suffered the loss for SNHU as
he allowed seven earned runs on nine hits with six strikeouts and
four walks in 6.1 innings of work.
Paradise hit 2-4 with a double and
a run scored, while Bernard was 1-4 with a homerun, two RBIs and
two runs scored.
| Teams
| 1
| 2
| 3
| 4
| 5
| 6
| 7
| 8
| 9
| R
| H
| E
|
| SNHU
| 2
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 1
| 0
| 1
| 0
| 4
| 5
| 0
|
| FP
| 0
| 0
| 3
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 4
| 0
| x
| 7
| 11
| 4
|
Battery
SNHU: Jason Paul, Bill Forbes and Jason Weaver
FP: Chris Shank and Al Medeiro
WP: Shank
(4-1)
LP: Paul (0-3)
HR: Bernard (1)
In the nightcap, Franklin Pierce
exploded for ten runs in the second inning to expand a 1-0 lead and
cruise to a 17-5 victory in eight innings.
McAuliffe started things with a
two-run single up the middle then Blancarte reached on a fielder's
choice that scored two more runs. After a two-run single to
rightfield by senior Eric Burney (Rockville, Conn./Rockville),
Loiseau capped the inning with a two-run homer to leftfield.
SNHU got four runs back in the
third inning, sparked by a leadoff homer by junior Eric Kramer and
a two-run single by Bernard.
Franklin Pierce capped things off
with a five-run eighth as the Ravens hit for the cycle as a team in
the frame. Loiseau led off the inning with a triple, followed by a
McAuliffe homer. Cavers, Dan Close (Leominster,
Mass./Leominster) and Blancarte followed with doubles
before freshman Mike MacSwain (Stoughton, Mass./Coyle
Cassidy) capped the cycle with an RBI single.
Close earned his first win of the
season (1-1) as he allowed six runs, five earned, on seven hits
with a career-high 11 strikeouts and four walks in 6.1 innings of
work.
MacSwain finished the game hitting
a perfect 5-5 with a stolen base, two runs scored and two RBIs.
McAuliffe was 4-5 with a double, a homer, three runs scored and
four RBIs, while Blancarte was 2-5 with a double, two runs scored
and three RBIs. Callahan also finished with three RBIs, while
Loiseau, Close and Burney all posted two hits.
Sophomore Aaron Jansen was the lone
Penmen batter with multiple hits as he hit 3-3 with a run scored.
Bernard and senior Steve Prymak each chipped in two RBIs.
Sophomore Jason Woodward suffered
the loss as he allowed one earned run on two hits with a strikeout
and a walk in just one inning before being lifted prior to the
second.
| Teams
| 1
| 2
| 3
| 4
| 5
| 6
| 7
| 8
| R
| H
| E
|
| SNHU
| 0
| 0
| 4
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 2
| 0
| 6
| 8
| 2
|
| FP
| 1
| 1
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 1
| 5
| 17
| 20
| 3
|
Battery
SNHU: Jason Woodward, Dustin Webb, Jerome Harty,
Ray Powers and Steve Kramer
FP: Dan Close, Greg Basile and Eric Cavers
WP: Close
(1-1)
LP: Woodward (2-3)
HR: Kramer (1); Loiseau (1); McAuliffe (2)
Franklin Pierce (11-8, 6-2 NE-10)
looks to extend its season-long winning streak to five games when
it hosts UMass Lowell for a key Conference game Monday afternoon at
3 p.m. Southern New Hampshire (4-15, 1-9 NE-10) returns to the
diamond on Tuesday when it hosts Assumption College for a
doubleheader at 1:30 p.m.
