White tosses complete-game victory, Close drives in three to lead Ravens

RINDGE, N.H. (May 4, 2003) - Franklin Pierce, ranked fourth in the most recent NCAA Division II Northeast Regional rankings, kept its Division title hopes alive with a key 7-1 victory over Southern Connecticut State University, ranked fifth in the region, in Northeast-10 Conference Markey Division baseball action at Crystal Field this afternoon.

Franklin Pierce, with two games remaining on its schedule, moves a half-game ahead of Southern Connecticut in the standings. The Ravens Markey Division title hopes also remain alive as College of Saint Rose (28-13, 18-9 NE-10) rounded out its regular season this afternoon with a 1-0 loss at Assumption College in 13 innings. Franklin Pierce (23-13, 16-9 NE-10) could win the Division title with two wins at Bentley College tomorrow having already clinched the head-to-head series with Saint Rose. Southern Connecticut (19-16, 15-9 NE-10) could leap-frog the Ravens again in the standings with a win at Assumption tomorrow (3:30 p.m.) and a Franklin Pierce loss in one of the games at Bentley.

Senior right-handerJon White (Medford, Mass./Arlington Catholic) earned his fifth win of the season (5-3) as he held the Southern bats in check to the tune of one earned run on five hits with two walks (both first inning) and seven strikeouts in the nine inning complete-game effort.

Senior Dan Close (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) led the offense as he hit 3-for-5 with a double, a run scored and three RBI. Freshman Shawn Hayes (Charlton, Mass./Holy Name) was 2-3 with a run scored. SeniorJosh Coughlin (Keene, N.H./Keene) and freshman Mike Chambers (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) were each 2-4 with a run scored and RBI, with Chambers also adding a double. Junior Dante Blancarte (Amesbury, Mass./Amesbury) and sophomore Eric Cavers (Otisfield, Maine/Oxford Hills) rounded out the six Franklin Pierce batters with multiple hits with two hits each.

Senior Alan Barbaro was the lone Southern Connecticut batter with multiple hits as he finished 2-3. Sophomore Mel Davis hit 1-3 with an RBI.

Junior Henry Lee suffered the loss (4-3), as he was touched for seven earned runs on 11 hits with three strikeouts and no walks in five-plus innings of work.

Southern took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first without the benefit of a hit. Junior Bobby Pentino, who had a 15-game hitting streak snapped today, and Lee each walked and Davis drove in Pentino with a sacrifice fly to center.

The Ravens knotted the score right away with a single run in the bottom of the frame. Cavers belted a leadoff double and later scored on a single to left from Close.

Franklin Pierce went ahead for good with two runs in the second. Chambers belted an RBI double and later scored on a ground ball to second. The Ravens broke the game open with three in the fifth and a single run in the sixth. Close ripped a two-run single through the left side and then scored on an RBI single from Coughlin in the fifth. Blancarte rounded out the scoring with an RBI single in the sixth. 

 BOX SCORE

Battery
FP: Jon White and Eric Cavers
SCSU: Lee, Tvardzik (6), Carter (9) and Dolyak and Hewes.

WP: White (5-3)
LP: Lee (4-3)