Ravens jump out to 11-0 lead after five, claim first ever
series sweep of River Hawks
RINDGE, N.H. (April 18,
2004) - Franklin Pierce, ranked No. 8 in this week's
National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division
II Northeast Region poll, jumped out to an 11-0 lead after five
innings en route to a 12-4 victory over UMass Lowell, ranked sixth
in the region, in Northeast-10 Conference baseball action at
Crystal Field this afternoon.
Franklin Pierce, who moved into
first place in the Conference standings with yesterday's
doubleheader sweep of UMass Lowell, completes its first-ever
regular season series sweep of the River Hawks and the 12 runs
scored mark just the third time in program history it has scored
double-digit runs against the River Hawks - the first in a win. The
Ravens also handed UMass Lowell its first-ever five-game Conference
losing streak with the loss.
Junior Eric Cavers
(Otisfield, Maine/Oxford Hills) paced the Ravens
12-hit attack, as he was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.
Senior Dante Blancarte (South Berwick, Maine/Amesbury
(Mass.)) hit 2-3 with a pair of walks, a double and
two RBI. Freshman Kim Hart (Gorham,
Maine/Gorham) finished 2-4 with a double and two RBI,
while sophomore Randy Fenton (Worcester,
Mass./Doherty) was 1-3 with a pair of RBI. Sophomore
Mike Feetham (Quincy, Mass./North Quincy)
chipped in with his first career home run and three RBI.
Sophomore right-hander
Tyler Cummings (South Paris, Maine/Oxford
Hills) was superb in his first start since March 18
due to injury in earning his first victory of the season (1-2). He
tossed five scoreless innings, yielding just two hits and a walk
with eight strikeouts.
No UMass Lowell batters registered
multiple hits as freshman Patrick Wilson (Dracut,
Mass./Bishop Guertin) led the way by hitting 1-5 with
two RBI. Sophomore Shamus Veo (Hudson,
Mass./Hudson) came off the bench and was 1-2 with a
run scored, as did freshman Sean Patno (Chelmsford,
Mass./Chelmsford), who batted 1-3 with an RBI.
Freshman Bill Furey (Chelmsford,
Mass./Chelmsford) was also 1-3 and scored a
run.
Junior right-hander Dan
Larson (Melrose, Mass./Malden Catholic) took the loss
as he was hit for five earned runs on four hits and three walks
with five strikeouts in 2.2 innings of work.
Franklin Pierce scored three times
in the second to open the scoring. Freshman Garrett
Olson (Norway, Maine/Oxford Hills) led off the frame
with a single and stole second before scoring on a double to
right-center by Hart. Feetham followed with his first career home
run down the right field line.
After the Ravens scored twice in
the third on a balk and wild pitch, they broke the game open with a
four-run fourth. Cavers led the inning off with a single, followed
by a walk by sophomore Elliott Shea (Jaffrey,
N.H./Conant). After the two advanced on a wild pitch,
Blancarte roped a double to the wall in right-center to drive them
in. Fenton rounded out the scoring with a two-out single to the
leftfield gap that drove in two.
Trailing 11-0, UMass Lowell scored
all four of its runs in the seventh after loading the bases with
none out. Sophomore Brian Delaney (Chelmsford,
Mass./Chelmsford) was hit by a pitch to put the River
Hawks on the board and Wilson capped the scoring with a two-run
single to leftfield with two out.
Franklin Pierce (17-16, 12-4 NE-10)
returns to action tomorrow afternoon for a Northeast-10 Conference
doubleheader at home against Merrimack College at 1 p.m. UMass
Lowell (12-15, 11-8 NE-10) visits Bryant College, ranked third in
the region, tomorrow at 2 p.m.
Boxscore
& Play-by-Play
