SCSU capitalizes on 11 walks for 10-3 win in game one Owls rally for 6-2 win in nightcap  

LAKELAND, Fla. (March 20, 2005) - Franklin Pierce, ranked No. 28 in this week's Collegiate Baseball magazine Division II coaches poll, was swept by Southern Connecticut State University in the Northeast-10 Conference baseball opener for both this afternoon.

Southern Connecticut took advantage of 11 walks by Franklin Pierce in collecting a 10-3 win in game one, before rallying for a 6-2 victory in the nightcap.  

Southern Connecticut scored six of its ten runs off 11 walks by Franklin Pierce pitching and coasted to a 10-3 victory in game one. Junior All-Region right-hander Keith Brouillard (Westport, Mass./Somerset) was unable to get out of the first inning, yielding three earned runs on three walks and a hit with a strikeout in two-thirds of an inning.

Freshman Steve Carr (Lynn, Mass./St. Mary's) paced the Ravens offense as he hit 2-for-4, including his first career homerun and two RBI. Junior second-baseman Mike Chambers (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) was 2-3 with a walk and steal.

Franklin Pierce struck first with a single run in the top of the first. Junior Elliott Shea (Jaffrey, N.H./Conant) doubled and scored when a pickoff attempt at first got away. Southern answered right away in the home half of the first as senior Jeremy Terni (Uncasville, Conn./Montville) followed up a pair of walks with a three-run homer.

The Ravens got a run back in the second as Carr singled home sophomore Vinny Pennell (Spencer, Mass./David Prouty), who reached with a single. However, the Owls broke the game open with two runs in the third and three more in the fourth. Junior Steve Gatewood (Franklin, Mass./Franklin) and sophomore Sean Morgan (Maynard, Mass./Maynard) registered RBI singles in the third, before sophomore Nick Czekja (Branford, Conn./Branford) followed up three walks with a two-run single and Morgan added a sac fly.  

BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

Batteries:
FP - Keith Brouillard, Steve Stocki (1), Steve Shepard (3), Tom Gilmore (4), Kyle Graham (5) and Steve Carr.
SCSU - Joe Vingo and Joe Pagan.

WP: Vingo (1-1)
LP: Brouillard (0-1)
HR: Jeremy Terni (1^st), three-run 1^st; Carr (1^st), solo 7^th.

Southern Connecticut scored five runs in the sixth inning to erase a 2-1 Franklin Pierce lead and collect a 6-2 decision in game two. Sean Morgan started things with an RBI single, followed by an RBI double from senior Bobby Pentino (Hamden, Conn./Hamden). The Ravens opted to intentionally walk the next two batters to set up an inning-ending double play, but Nick Czekja ripped a two-run single and Joe Pagan (Bridgeport, Conn./Central) scored on a passed ball.

Junior Tyler Cummings (South Paris, Maine/Oxford Hills) suffered the loss, yielding six earned runs on six hits and three walks with three strikeouts over 5.1 innings of work. The loss was his first in an NE-10 regular season contest since his freshman year, snapping a streak of five-straight winning decisions. Southern's single run in the fourth ended Cummings' scoreless inning streak in Conference play at 36.1 innings, also dating back to his freshman season.

Freshman Matt Anderson (Medford, Mass./Medford) led the Ravens offense as he hit 2-for-3 with an RBI. Junior Shawn Hayes (Charlton, Mass./Holy Name) finished 1-3 with a double, walk and run scored.

After Southern opened the scoring with a single run in the fourth on a Jeremy Terni RBI single, the Ravens took the lead with a pair of runs in the fifth. Hayes doubled and scored on Anderson's RBI single. Junior Mike Feetham (Quincy, Mass./North Quincy) walked and scored on an error.

BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

Batteries:
FP - Tyler Cummings, Matt Fisher (6), Steve Shepard (8) and Matt Anderson.
SCSU - Matt Hennessy and Pagan.  

WP: Hennessy (1-1)
LP: Cummings (0-1)  

Franklin Pierce (2-2, 0-2 NE-10) returns to action tomorrow night when it battles Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla., at 7 p.m. Southern Connecticut (4-3, 2-0 NE-10) returns to action tomorrow when it visits Saint Leo University at 7 p.m.