Laurin fires eight three-hit shutout innings to silence Ravens
bats
LOWELL, Mass. (April 2,
2003) - University of Massachusetts Lowell, ranked No. 30
in this week's Collegiate Baseball Division II poll, silenced
Franklin Pierce, receiving votes in this week's National Collegiate
Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) poll, for a 7-0 victory in
Northeast-10 Conference baseball action at LeLacheur Field this
afternoon.
The NE-10's one-year wood bat
experiment along with a commanding outing from UMass Lowell
sophomore left-hander Brad Laurin wasn't a kind combination for
Franklin Pierce in its Conference opener. Laurin (2-1) limited the
Ravens to just three hits (two bunt singles) in eight scoreless
innings of work with ten strikeouts and two walks.
The bottom third of the River Hawks
lineup did most of the damage, hitting a combined six-for-ten with
four runs scored and four RBI. Sophomore Nate Liebenow led the way
as he hit 3-4 with a pair of triples, two runs scored and an RBI.
Freshman Kevin McCann was 2-4 with a double and two RBI, while
leadoff hitter Scott LaValley was 2-4 with an RBI.
Senior rightfielder Dan
Close (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) had the Ravens
lone swinging hit of the game with a sharp single to right in the
seventh, while sophomore Eric Cavers (Otisfield,
Maine/Oxford Hills) and freshman Elliott
Shea (Jaffrey, N.H./Conant) each chipped in bunt
singles.
Senior right-hander Jon
White (Medford, Mass./Arlington Catholic) suffered
the loss (2-2) as he yielded seven runs, five earned, on eight hits
with seven strikeouts and no walks in six-plus innings of work.
Cavers' bunt single led off the
game and he reached third base with none out after he stole second
and advanced on a throwing error. Cavers was then thrown out at the
plate on a one-out groundball to first base from junior
Dante Blancarte (Amesbury,
Mass./Amesbury).
The River Hawks scored an unearned
run in the bottom half of the frame as LaValley led off with a
single down the left field line. He advanced to second on a White
throwing error on a pickoff attempt, then rounded to third on a
passed ball before scoring on a sacrifice fly from senior Adam
McCusker.
UML added a second run in the fifth
when Liebenow singled then stole third after he was pushed to
second with a sac bunt and scored on a McCann single through the
left side. The run was just the second earned against White of the
season to that point.
White kept the game close until
things unraveled in the seventh when UMass Lowell broke the game
open with five runs. Freshman Bob Theriault led off the inning by
reaching third on a chopper out in front of the plate when Cavers'
throw to first went wildly into right field.
Senior Michael Regan singled
Theriault home and then scored on a Liebenow triple. Junior Todd
Cole drove him in with a single, then scored on a McCann double,
which chased White. LaValley rounded out the scoring by driving in
Cole with a sac fly.
Franklin Pierce (7-5, 0-1 NE-10)
returns to action tomorrow afternoon when it travels to
Springfield, Mass., tomorrow afternoon for a match-up with American
International College at 3:30 p.m. UMass Lowell (6-6, 1-1 NE-10)
hosts Bentley College tomorrow at 3:30 p.m.
| Teams
| 1
| 2
| 3
| 4
| 5
| 6
| 7
| 8
| 9
| R
| H
| E
|
| FP
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 3
| 3
|
| UML
| 1
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 1
| 0
| 5
| 0
| x
| 7
| 9
| 2
|
BOX
SCORE
Batteries:
FP - Jon White, Keith Broulliard (7), Arric Mather (8)
and Eric Cavers
UML -- Brad Laurin, Dan Larson (9) and Allen
Mottram
WP: Laurin
(2-1)
LP: White (2-2)
