Wild pitch on intentional walk
attempt plates winning run in ninth
RINDGE, N.H. (May 1,
2002) - A bizarre finish saw Franklin Pierce
University
claim its first ever victory over the University of Massachusetts
Lowell in Northeast-10 Conference baseball action at Crystal Field
this afternoon.
With runners on second and third
and no outs in the bottom of the ninth, UMass Lowell decided to
intentionally walk Franklin Pierce junior Dan Close
(Leominster, Mass./Leominster) to load the bases.
However, River Hawks right-hander Dave Ouellette saw ball two sail
to the backstop enabling Franklin Pierce's Eric Burney
(Rockville, Conn./Rockville) to scamper home with the
winning run.
The inning began with Burney
reaching base on an Ouellette throwing error on a chopper between
the mound and the third base line. Franklin Pierce senior
Scott Loiseau (Worcester, Mass./St. Peter
Marian) reached when UML first baseball Cliff Towne
dropped an Ouellette throw on a sacrifice bunt. Ravens junior
Paul McAuliffe (Foxboro, Mass./Foxboro)
sacrificed the two runners into scoring position, which set the
tables for the wild ending.
Franklin Pierce junior
Chris Shank (Westminster, Mass./Oakmont
Regional) was the beneficiary of the good luck as he
matched teammate Jon White (Medford, Mass./Arlington
Catholic) with his school-record eighth win of the
season. Shank (8-1) allowed four runs, three earned, on nine hits
with seven strikeouts and just one walk in his sixth complete-game
effort of the season.
Close finished two-for-three at the
plate with a homerun and an RBI. Sophomore Dante
Blancarte (Amesbury, Mass./Amesbury) extended his
hitting streak to a team season-long 16 games as he finished 2-4
with a homerun and an RBI. Junior Mike Callahan
(Worcester, Mass./St. Peter Marian) was 2-4 with a
double and a run scored.
Ouellette suffered the loss (2-2)
as he allowed the one unearned run and no hits in 1.1 innings of
relief. He relieved UML starter Brad Laurin who allowed four earned
runs on ten hits with four strikeouts and a walk in seven innings
of work.
Junior Scott Lavalley sparked the
River Hawks offense by hitting 2-4 with a homerun and two RBIs.
Classmate Michael Regan finished 2-3, while Allen Mottram was 2-4.
Franklin Pierce took a 1-0 lead in
the second inning as freshman Bear Dunn (Charlton,
Mass./Shepherd Hill) laced an RBI single.
UML took the lead in the fourth
inning when Lavalley followed Sean Kerrigan's two-out double with a
homer to right field.
After Franklin Pierce knotted the
score in the bottom of the fourth with a Loiseau homer, the River
Hawks took a 4-2 lead in the fifth. Sophomore Todd Colescored as
classmate Adam McCusker reach on a fielder's choice. McCusker later
scored when Burney mishandled a Mottram single in left.
Blancarte belted a solo homer in
the bottom of the fifth to pull Franklin Pierce within one and
Close knotted the game at 4-4 with another solo homer in the
seventh.
The win puts Franklin Pierce a
half-game ahead of Southern Connecticut State University for the
final NE-10 playoff spot. The Ravens are still one game behind
College of Saint Rose in the loss column for second place as they
posted a 10-4 win over Markey Division-leading Bryant College in
Albany, N.Y., this afternoon. Franklin Pierce closes to within two
games in the loss column of first place.
Franklin Pierce (25-16, 18-10
NE-10) returns to action on Friday afternoon when it opens a
four-game weekend series with American International College at
Crystal Field at 3:30 p.m. UMass Lowell (24-15, 20-11 NE-10) hosts
Saint Anselm College tomorrow afternoon.
| Teams
| 1
| 2
| 3
| 4
| 5
| 6
| 7
| 8
| 9
| R
| H
| E
|
| UML
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 2
| 2
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 4
| 9
| 3
|
| FP
| 0
| 1
| 0
| 1
| 1
| 0
| 1
| 0
| 1
| 5
| 10
| 1
|
Batteries:
FP: Chris Shank and Al Medeiros
UML: Brad Laurin, Dave Ouellette (8th) and Matt
Tupman
WP: Shank
(8-1)
LP: Ouellette (2-2)
HR: Lavalley (7); Loiseau (8); Close (12);
Blancarte (12).
