Ravens roll to 10-3 win in game one; Bulldogs comeback to
collect 5-3 win in nightcap
SMITHFIELD, R.I. (May 2,
2005) - Franklin Pierce, ranked No. 30 in this week's
Collegiate Baseball magazine Division II poll, split a
Northeast-10 Conference baseball doubleheader against Bryant
University at the Bryant Baseball Complex this afternoon.
Franklin Pierce jumped out to a 6-0
lead in the third inning en route to posting a 10-3 decision in
game one. All nine batters in the Ravens lineup registered a hit,
with seven posting two hits in the contest.
Junior right-hander
Tyler Cummings (South Paris, Maine/Oxford
Hills) earned the complete-game win (5-3) on just
three days rest, allowing the three earned runs on eight hits with
seven strikeouts and just one walk for Franklin
Pierce.
Junior Bryan Duplissie
(East Swanzey, N.H./Monadnock Regional) sparked the
offense, as he was 2-for-5 with a home run, double and two RBI.
Sophomore Garrett Olson (Norway, Maine/Oxford
Hills) was 2-6 with a double and three RBI, while
classmate Kim Hart (Gorham, Maine/Gorham)
finished 2-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Junior
Randy Fenton (Worcester, Mass./Doherty)
hit 2-4 with a pair of runs scored.
Junior Paul Novakowski
(Prospect, Conn./Bridgton Academy) hit 3-for-4 for
Bryant, driving in two of the Bulldogs three runs. Classmate
Adam Rourke (Rowley, Mass./Triton) was
2-4 with a run scored, while sophomore Chad Valenti
(Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) finished 1-3 with a
run scored.
Junior David Rappoli
(Wilmington, Mass./St. John's Prep) suffered the loss
(2-3) as he was hit for five earned runs on seven hits with two
strikeouts and no walk over 1.2 innings.
The Ravens got on the scoreboard
first with five runs in the second. Duplissie followed up a leadoff
double by junior Shawn Hayes (Charlton, Mass./Holy
Name) with his Conference-leading tenth home run of
the season. Olson, and juniors Elliott Shea (Jaffrey,
N.H./Conant) and Mike Chambers
(Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) each added RBI
singles.
Franklin Pierce scored a run in the
top of the third with an RBI single from freshman Matt
Anderson (Medford, Mass./Medford), but Bryant cut the
lead in half with three in the bottom of the third. Sophomore
Mike Rocco (Tewksbury, Mass./Tewksbury)
followed three straight singles to lead off the frame by hitting
into fielder's choice that was able to score the Bulldogs first run
of the game. Novakowski followed with a two-run single to right.
Franklin Pierce broke the game open
again with three in the seventh, sparked by a two-run double from
Olson, and rounded out the scoring in the ninth as Anderson doubled
and scored on an error that should have ended the inning.
BOX
SCORE &
PLAY-BY-PLAY
In the nightcap, Franklin Pierce
scored three times in the top of the first, but Bryant avoided
three-game regular season series sweep by rallying for a 5-3
victory.
Junior Daryle Crowley
(Danvers, Mass./Danvers) was 2-for-3 with a double,
homer and two RBI, while Paul Novakowski was 1-4 with a homer and
two RBI. Freshman Jason Alexander (Simsbury,
Conn./Simsbury) finished 2-3 with two runs scored.
Sophomore Matt Gaynor
(Hyde Park, N.Y./Our Lady Lourdes) earned the
complete game victory (6-3), allowing just the three earned runs on
eight hits with a strikeout and three walks. Gaynor settled down
after yielding all three runs in the first and didn't yield more
than one base runner in an inning until the eighth.
Bryan Duplissie again led the
Ravens, as he was 2-for-2 with a pair of walks, a home run and two
RBI. Randy Fenton was 2-3, while Shawn Hayes finished 1-4 with a
stolen base and RBI.
Sophomore Tom Gilmore
(Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place) suffered the loss
(0-1) in relief, allowing two earned runs on two hits and two walks
with three strikeouts over three innings. Junior Keith
Brouillard (Westport, Mass./Somerset) went five-plus
innings and surrendered three earned runs on six hits with a
strikeout and two walks.
Olson led off the game with a
single and scored on a Hayes infield single with two out before
Duplissie launched his second homer of the day to give the Ravens
an early 3-0 lead. The homer was the Conference-leading
11th of the season for Duplissie, which is just four shy
of Mal Higgins' single-season program record, and marked the
18th time this season (14-4 record) the Ravens scored in
the first inning.
Bryant struck for a single run in
the third before knotting the score with a pair in the sixth.
Crowley drew a leadoff walk, then Novakowski belted his second
homer of the season to left field. The Bulldogs scored two more in
the seventh as Alexander hit a leadoff single before Crowley
smacked a go-ahead two-run homer.
The Ravens put two runners on with
one out in the eighth, but could not score.
BOX
SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY
Franklin Pierce (25-12, 19-9 NE-10)
returns to action on Wednesday when it hosts American International
College at Dr. Pappas Field at 3:30 p.m. Bryant (20-17, 14-11
NE-10) hosts Assumption College tomorrow at 2 p.m.
