Chambers 10-RBI day helps Ravens earn first round bye in NE-10 tournament

RINDGE, N.H. (May 1, 2004) - Franklin Pierce, ranked No. 25 in this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division II poll, swept a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader with College of Saint Rose at Crystal Field this afternoon. The Ravens posted a 10-7 victory in game one and collected an 8-5 decision in the nightcap.

The wins, coupled with Saint Anselm College's (29-17, 23-7 NE-10) sweep of Bryant College (35-13, 23-9 NE-10) in a doubleheader in Manchester, N.H., clinches a first round bye for Franklin Pierce (28-19, 23-7 NE-10) into next weekend's double-elimination portion of the Northeast-10 Conference Championships beginning Friday at LeLacheur Park in Lowell, Mass. The losses eliminate Saint Rose (23-24, 13-18 NE-10) from contention for a postseason berth.

The Ravens can clinch the Northeast-10 regular season title out-right and the top seed in next weekend's NE-10 Tournament with a win tomorrow at Saint Rose (1 p.m.) and a Saint Anselm loss either tomorrow at Bryant (1 p.m.) or Tuesday in a doubleheader at Assumption College. If Franklin Pierce and Saint Anselm finish tied, the Hawks would be the higher seed as they hold the head to head tiebreaker.

Sophomore Mike Chambers (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) paced the Ravens this afternoon as he totaled ten RBI on the afternoon, including a program record matching six in game one alone, as he hit a combined 4-for-7 with a double and two home runs.            

In game one, Saint Rose scored three runs in the top of the third to take a 4-3 lead, but Franklin Pierce roared back with three in the home half of the frame to regain the lead for good and added three more in the seventh to seal the victory.

Chambers hit 2-3 with a double, home run and a six RBI, while junior Eric Cavers (Otisfield, Maine/Oxford Hills) batted 3-5 with four runs scored and a stolen base. Sophomore Elliott Shea (Jaffrey, N.H./Conant) was 2-4 with a run scored, while classmate Randy Fenton (Worcester, Mass./Doherty) finished 1-3 with a double and two runs scored.

Freshman Daniel Fournier (Worcester, Mass./Holy Name) picked up his sixth win of the season (6-2) as he allowed seven runs, just four earned, scattering ten hits and three walks with eight strikeouts in 7.2 innings of work. Redshirt freshman Matt Fisher (Athol, Mass./Athol) picked up his first of two saves on the afternoon with 1.1 innings of perfect relief, fanning one.

Freshman Gary Miller (Prospect, Conn./Wolcott) led Saint Rose as he hit 2-4 with a stolen base and three RBI. Junior Josh Colafemina (Schenectady, N.Y./Schenectady) was 2-5 with an RBI, while senior John Howe (Stony Point, N.Y./North Rockland) added a solo home run.      

Junior Ryan Tatlock (Amsterdam, N.Y./Amsterdam) suffered the loss as he yielded six runs, four earned, on eight hits with a walk and a strikeout over four innings.

Franklin Pierce held a 3-1 lead after a two-run double by Chambers in the third. Saint Rose answered with three unearned runs in the top of the four as Miller had the big hit of the inning with a two-run single to center with two outs.

The Ravens responded with three in the home half of the fourth, two of which were unearned. Fenton roped a one-out double with sophomore Mike Feetham (Quincy, Mass./North Quincy) scoring on a throwing error on the play. Fenton scored on a sacrifice fly by freshman Vinny Pennell (Spencer, Mass./David Prouty) and Cavers, who reached on a dropped fly ball that should have ended the inning, scored on a Shea single through the right side.

Chambers belted his first of two three-run homers on the afternoon to give the Ravens a 9-5 lead in the bottom of the seventh. The Golden Knights crept within two with a pair of runs in the eighth to chase Fournier, but Fisher came on and retired all four batters he faced to seal the victory.

 GAME ONE: Boxscore & Play-by-Play        

In the nightcap, Franklin Pierce fell behind by a pair of runs in the top of the first, but knotted the score in the bottom of the frame and took command of the game with a four-run fifth.

Chambers led the way again as he was 2-4 with a homer and four RBI. Freshman Garrett Olson (Norway, Maine/Oxford Hills) was 2-4 with a homer and two runs scored, while Fenton finished 2-2 with a run scored and RBI. Senior Dante Blancarte (South Berwick, Maine/Amesbury (Mass.)) hit 1-3 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI.

Sophomore Mike Farrell (Russell, Mass./Gateway Regional) picked up his second win of the season (2-1) with 6.1 strong innings, yielding four runs, just two earned, on six hits and two walks with seven strikeouts. Fisher nailed down the win allowing a hit and a walk with a strikeout in two innings to notch his third save over the last two days.

Junior David Stringham (Schenectady, N.Y./Schenectady) led the Golden Knights as he was 2-4 with three RBI. Howe hit 2-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Colafemina finished 2-4 with a stolen base and run scored. 

Freshman Dane Cory (Glens Falls, N.Y./Glens Falls) suffered his second loss of the season (5-2), allowing seven runs, six earned, on seven hits and four walks with two strikeouts in five innings of work.

Saint Rose jumped ahead in the top of the first with a pair of unearned runs. Howe laced a leadoff single, Colafemina reached on a throwing error by Farrell and the two scored on a two-out single by Stringham to right field.

Franklin Pierce answered with a pair in the home half to knot the score as Blancarte roped an RBI double and Chambers drove him in with a single down the leftfield line. The Ravens took the lead for good on a Fenton sacrifice fly that scored Olson, who registered a leadoff single, in the fourth. The Ravens broke the game open with four in the fifth as Chambers belted his second three-run homer of the day, after Blancarte was intentionally walked, and Olson followed it with a solo shot.

Saint Rose closed within two runs (7-5) with a pair in the seventh and another in the eighth, but the Ravens added an insurance run in the eighth and Fisher held the Golden Knights in check over the final two to seal things.

GAME TWO: Boxscore & Play-by-Play 

These two teams round out their three-game weekend series tomorrow afternoon in Albany, N.Y., at 1 p.m.