White blanks Warriors in game one to set the tone; Ravens bang out 11 hits in nightcap victory

RINDGE, N.H. (April 19, 2003) - Franklin Pierce, ranked second in this week's New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) Division II poll, rounded out a string of six games in five-straight days with a doubleheader sweep of Merrimack College in Northeast-10 Conference baseball action at Crystal Field this afternoon. The Ravens posted a 5-0 victory in game one and a 7-3 decision in the nightcap.

In game one, Franklin Pierce rolled behind the right arm of senior Jon White (Medford, Mass./Arlington Catholic) to snap a two-game losing streak. The Ravens have not lost more than two games in a row this season and have dropped back-to-back games just twice. White faced just one over the minimum through seven innings and used just 39 total pitches (26 strikes) to get through the first five frames as he finished the game facing three over the minimum and using 100 total pitches in the six-hit shutout. He finished with seven strikeouts and just one walk in his team-best third complete game effort of the season.

Junior Dante Blancarte (Amesbury, Mass./Amesbury) led the Ravens offense as he finished 2-for-4 with a run scored and stolen base. Senior Mike Callahan (Worcester, Mass./St. Peter Marian) was 1-3 with two RBI, while classmate Dan Close (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) was 1-4 with two runs scored, a double, two steals and an RBI.

Junior Anthony Bissanti deserved a better outcome, as he yielded five runs, just two earned, on seven hits with eight strikeouts and a walk in the complete-game effort.

Six Merrimack batters registered singles, including senior Bryan Calder who also drew a walk and finished 1-3.

The Ravens got what proved to be the only run they would need in the first, when sophomore Eric Cavers (Otisfield, Mass./Oxford Hills) led off the inning with a single. After Blancarte singled to put Cavers on third, the pair executed a perfect delayed steal as Cavers swiped home after Blancarte drew the throw to first.

Franklin Pierce added a pair in the sixth for some breathing room. Close doubled off the leftfield wall to score Blancarte, who had singled, and Close later scored when freshman Elliott Shea (Jaffrey, N.H./Conant) reached on an error.

The Ravens added two more insurance runs in the eighth as Callahan singled to center to score Close and freshman Shawn Hayes (Charlton, Mass./Holy Name) with two outs. 

 BOX SCORE

Batteries:
FP - Jon White and Eric Cavers
MER -- Bissanti and Murphy

WP: White (3-2)
LP: Bissanti (0-5)

In the nightcap, Franklin Pierce banged out 11 hits and rebounded from an early 2-0 deficit for the win.

All nine Ravens batters reached base in the game, with senior Paul McAuliffe (Foxboro, Mass./Foxboro) hitting 3-5 with a triple and two RBI. Close was 2-4 with two runs scored, a double, RBI and two steals. Senior Josh Coughlin (Keene, N.H./Keene) finished 1-2 with a pair of walks, two runs scored and a steal.

Freshman Tyler Cummings (South Paris, Maine/Oxford Hills) settled down after the first inning and finished allowing three earned runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and two walks in eight innings of work. Classmate Jake Tenney (Surry, N.H./Monadnock) allowed just a leadoff double and struck out two in a scoreless ninth.

Junior Ed Riedel led Merrimack as he hit 3-4 with a double, RBI and run scored. Senior John Turczynski finished 1-4 with an RBI.

The Warriors took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Turczynski registered a two-out RBI single to score Sean Lawton, who earlier singled, and later scored on a Riedel single down the rightfield line.

Franklin Pierce answered by scoring four over the next three innings. Cavers drew a leadoff walk in the first and scored on a sacrifice fly from Close. Shea lined an RBI single up the middle in the second to score Hayes with the game-tying run. Coughlin, who earlier singled, scored on a groundout by freshman Nick Panza (Albany, N.Y./Colonie Central) to put the Ravens up 3-2. Callahan singled through the left side in the third to score Close, who doubled, with two outs.

The Ravens led 5-3 in the eighth, when they scored two insurance runs, thanks to a McAuliffe single up the middle with two outs.

Franklin Pierce (14-9, 7-5 NE-10) is off until Monday when it visits Southern New Hampshire University for a game at 3:30 p.m. Merrimack drops to 4-16, 3-6 NE-10, with the sweep. 

 BOX SCORE

Batteries:
FP - Tyler Cummings, Jake Tenney (9) and Eric Cavers
MER -- Kosmas, Arnold (8) and Murphy

WP: Cummings (3-3)
LP: Kosmas (0-2