Ravens post 5-2 win in game one, finish sweep with 18-13 decision in extra innings

FORT MYERS, Fla. (March 25, 2005) - Franklin Pierce, receiving votes in both this week's Collegiate Baseball magazine and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division II polls, ended a three-game slide and finished its spring break trip on a winning note with a doubleheader sweep of the University of Minnesota-Duluth at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic this afternoon.

Franklin Pierce, which had dropped three-straight on the heels of a 4-1 victory over No. 1-ranked University of Tampa on Tuesday including a sweep at the hands of Minnesota-Duluth yesterday, claimed a 5-2 victory in game one, before surviving with an 18-13 victory in nine innings in the nightcap.      

In game one, Franklin Pierce snapped out of its funk with five in the sixth inning, scoring all of its runs in the frame after falling behind 2-0 after an inning and a half.

Junior Tyler Cummings (South Paris, Maine/Oxford Hills) turned in a solid performance on the mound, yielding two unearned runs on five hits with a strikeout and no walks over six innings to pick up his first win of the season (1-1). Sophomore Matt Fisher (Athol, Mass./Athol) earned his first save of the season with a perfect seventh, fanning one.

Junior Mike Feetham (Quincy, Mass./North Quincy) hit 2-for-3 with a double for the Ravens. Freshman Steve Carr (Lynn, Mass./St. Mary's) was 2-3 with a double and run scored, while junior co-captain Randy Fenton (Worcester, Mass./Doherty) also finished 2-3.

Sophomore Kim Hart (Gorham, Maine/Gorham) sparked the Franklin Pierce rally with a pinch-hit double. After Carr singled, sophomore Garrett Olson (Norway, Maine/Oxford Hills) laced a two-run double to knot the score. Junior Elliott Shea (Jaffrey, N.H./Conant) kept the inning going with a walk, followed by a two-run double from classmate Mike Chambers (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry), who rounded out the scoring by crossing on a wild pitch.

Junior Luke Hagman (Ham Lake, Minn./Forest Lake) suffered the loss for UMD, yielding three earned runs on 11 hits and a walk with three strikeouts in 5.1 innings.

The Bulldogs took the early lead with a pair in the second. Freshman Ty Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis./Memorial) singled and later scored on a passed ball, while junior Tim Garceau (Marinette, Wis./Marinette) reached on an error and scored on a sacrifice fly from classmate Mike Hanson (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy).
   

Batteries:
UMD - Luke Hagman, Scott Christenson (6) and Mike Hanson, Luke Johnson (7).
FP - Tyler Cummings, Matt Fisher (7) and Steve Carr.  

WP: Cummings (1-1)
LP: Hagman
SV: Fisher (1)

In the nightcap, Franklin Pierce squandered a three-run lead in the bottom of the seventh, but erupted for nine runs in the ninth and withstood a Minnesota-Duluth rally in the bottom of the frame to collect an 18-13 triumph.

Kim Hart was the star offensively for Franklin Pierce as he belted a pair of home runs, including a key three-run shot in the ninth, and matched a program-record with six RBI as he finished 3-for-5.

Mike Chambers with 3-6 with a double, homer, three RBI and three runs scored for the Ravens, while Garrett Olson was 3-5 with a walk, three runs scored and a stolen base. Junior Bryan Duplissie (East Swanzey, N.H./Monadnock Regional) was 2-4 with a double, homer, three RBI and three runs scored. Sophomore Vinny Pennell (Spencer, Mass./David Prouty) finished 2-5 with a double, stolen base and three RBI.

Matt Fisher picked up the win in relief for the Ravens despite yielding three runs, two earned, on three hits and two walks with a strikeout in two innings. Redshirt freshman Kyle Graham (Westboro, Mass./Westboro) turned in a solid relief outing for Franklin Pierce, allowing an unearned run on two hits with three strikeouts and no walks over 3.1 innings.            

Franklin Pierce seemed to break open a 5-5 tie with four runs in the fifth. Chambers registered an RBI single and Pennell lined a two-run double, followed by an RBI single from Hart.

However, UMD answered with a single run in the home half of the fifth, before knotting the score again with three in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings. Freshman Kyle Zweber (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville) collected an RBI single, before junior Greg Akers' (Superior, Wis./Superior) cleared the bags with a two-run triple.

The Ravens erupted with nine in the ninth. Chambers doubled and scored on a sac fly from Pennell, before Hart delivered his second homer of the game, a three-run shot. Olson and Elliott Shea both registered run-scoring singles, before Chambers ripped a two-run homer for his second extra-base hit of the inning. Duplissie went back-to-back with Chambers, adding his fifth homer of the young season, to round out the Ravens scoring.

The Bulldogs plated four in the home half, but sophomore Eric Grabowski (Worcester, Mass./David Prouty) came on to record the final out for Franklin Pierce with runners on first and third.

Batteries:
FP - Keith Brouillard, Kyle Graham (2), Steve Shepard (5), Matt Fisher (6), Clay Jenkins (9), Eric Grabowski (9) and Matt Anderson.
UMD - Adam Templin, Scott Christenson, Adam Baker, Nate Taran and Tom Paitich.  

WP: Fisher (1-1)
LP: Taran
HR: Kim Hart 2 (2), Mike Chambers (2), Bryan Duplissie (5).

Franklin Pierce (6-5, 0-2 NE-10) returns north to likely have most of its scheduled games next week rescheduled due to this week's inclement weather. Minnesota-Duluth (6-8) is back in action on Wednesday at Winona State University.