Ravens belt four homers, two from
Hayes, in posting second-straight win
RINDGE, N.H. (April 22,
2005) - Franklin Pierce, ranked No. 29 in this week's
Collegiate Baseball magazine Division II poll, used four
home runs to fuel a 9-3 victory over American International College
in Northeast-10 Conference baseball action at Dr. Arthur and Martha
Pappas Field this afternoon.
Junior shortstop Shawn
Hayes (Charlton, Mass./Holy Name) belted two of
Franklin Pierce's four home runs, including a towering shot to dead
center in the seventh inning, and finished 2-for-3 with a walk,
three runs scored, a stolen base and three
RBI.
Classmate Mike Chambers
(Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) was 2-4 with a
double, homer and three RBI, while sophomore Vinny
Pennell (Spencer, Mass./David Prouty) was 2-3 with a
steal and RBI. Junior Elliott Shea (Jaffrey,
N.H./Conant) was 2-4 with a triple and two runs
scored, while sophomore Garrett Olson (Norway,
Maine/Oxford Hills) smacked his fifth homer of the
season.
Sophomore Clay Jenkins
(Easton, N.H./Profile) picked up his first win of the
season (1-0) as he yielded three earned runs on five hits and a
walk with six strikeouts over seven innings. Classmate
Steve Gilmore (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller
Place) pitched a perfect eighth and Neil
Cacciola (Wakefield, Mass./Wakefield) yielded just a
single with a strikeout in a scoreless ninth.
Freshman Greg Genovese
(Hingham, Mass./Pomfret School) was the lone AIC
player with multiple hits as he finished 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Junior Drew Kohl (Easthampton, Mass./South
Hadley) was 1-4 with a home run, while sophomore
Michael Silvestri (Revere, Mass./Revere)
was 1-4 with a double and
RBI.
Freshman Uchon Yi
(Windsor Locks, Conn./Windsor Locks) suffered the
loss (2-4) as he was touched for eight runs, six earned, on ten
hits and two walks with three strikeouts over six innings. Freshman
reliever John Silva (Salisbury, Mass./Triton
Regional) pitched a perfect eighth inning for the
Yellow Jackets, retiring the Ravens in order on three pitches.
AIC struck first with a pair of
runs in the top of the first. Kohl led off the game with his first
homer of the year down the left field line, then freshman
Jeff Rustico (Plantsville,
Conn./Southington) walked and scored on a Genovese
single through the left side.
Franklin Pierce answered right away
with three in the home half, marking the 15th time this
season (12-3 record) the Ravens have scored in the first inning.
Shea tripled to right center and scored on Chambers' double to
center. Hayes followed with his first homer of the day to left
center, putting the Ravens ahead for good. Franklin Pierce added a
pair in the third when Shea singled and scored on Chambers fifth
homer of the year to left.
The Yellow Jackets got a run back
in the fourth as sophomore Dominic Meattey
(Fitzwilliam, N.H./Monadnock) doubled and scored on
Silvestri's double to left with one out. Raven pitching settled
down from there and retired the next 15 batters (11 by Jenkins)
before Genovese singled off Cacciola with one out in the ninth.
The Ravens broke the game open with
three in the fifth. Olson led the inning off with his fifth homer
of the season, while Pennell and sophomore Kim Hart
(Gorham, Maine/Gorham) each added RBI singles. Hayes
capped the scoring with a shot just shy of Joe Castiglione Way in
dead center in the seventh, marking his third homer in two days.
Franklin Pierce (18-9, 12-6 NE-10)
opens a key three-game weekend series against Bryant University
with a doubleheader tomorrow in Smithfield, R.I., beginning at 11
a.m. The game has been moved up an hour to accommodate a break in
the inclement weather expected in the region this weekend. The two
teams will conclude their series at Dr. Pappas Field on Sunday at 1
p.m. American International (7-21, 3-16 NE-10) visits Saint Anselm
College tomorrow for a Conference twin bill at noon.
BOX
SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY
