Ravens win nightcap, 15-6, after late rally falls just
short in 7-6 loss in game one
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (March
25, 2006) - Franklin Pierce, ranked No. 7 in this week's
Collegiate Baseball magazine Division II Coaches' poll,
rounded out its spring break trip with a doubleheader split with
Nova Southeastern University, receiving votes in the coaches' poll,
at the NSU Baseball Complex this afternoon. The Ravens saw a late
rally fall just short in a 7-6 loss in game one, before rolling to
a 15-6 victory in the nightcap.
Senior All-American
Bryan Duplissie (East Swanzey, N.H./Monadnock
Regional) hit a combined 4-for-8 with two doubles, a
home run (grand slam), four runs scored and eight RBI in the
doubleheader, also picking up the win on the mound in game two.
Junior Vinny Pennell
(Spencer, Mass./David Prouty) was a combined 4-for-7
with a triple, stolen base, run scored and three RBI on the day,
while junior All-American Garrett Olson (Norway,
Maine/Oxford Hills) hit a combined 4-for-8 with a
double, two RBI and four runs scored.
In game one, Nova Southeastern
erased an early 3-1 deficit and opened a 7-3 advantage after five,
before holding off a late Franklin Pierce rally for the 7-6
victory. The Ravens drew within a run with three in the seventh and
had the tying run on third in the
ninth.
Senior Brian Ikalina
(Sunrise, Fla.) led Nova Southeastern's 11-hit
attack, as he was 3-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI. Classmate
Greg Burrows (Nassau, Bahamas) was 2-4
with a double and stolen base, while junior Shawn
Langlois (West Palm Beach, Fla.) was 2-5 with a
double, stolen base and RBI.
Junior left-hander
Antony Bello (Miami, Fla.) improved to
6-1 on the season, allowing three earned runs on three hits and
five walks with five strikeouts over five plus innings of work.
Senior Joe Franco (Boynton Beach, Fla.)
ran into a little trouble in the ninth, but stranded the tying run
on third base to collect his sixth save of the year.
Senior right-hander
Tyler Cummings (South Paris, Maine/Oxford
Hills) came up short in his first bid to become
Franklin Pierce's career win leader, taking his first loss of the
season (3-1) as he allowed seven runs, four earned, on nine hits
with a strikeout and no walks in 4.1 innings of work. Cummings has
posted a 20-12 career mark and sits tied with Chris Shank and Jon
White atop the Ravens career wins list. He was able to match former
teammate Keith Brouillard's program record for consecutive shutout
innings, getting two outs in the first to extend his string to 17.2
innings before NSU plated a single
run.
Pennell led the Ravens on offense as
he hit 2-for-3 with a triple, stolen base and RBI. Senior
Mike Chambers (Londonderry,
N.H./Londonderry) was 2-5 with a double, run scored
and RBI, while Duplissie, Olson, Elliott Shea (Jaffrey,
N.H./Conant) and Kim Hart (Gorham,
Maine/Gorham) were all 1-4 with an RBI.
Franklin Pierce opened a 3-1 lead
after two innings as Chambers roped an RBI double in the first and
Olson added an RBI single and Shea drove in a run on a ground out
in the second. Nova Southeastern knotted the score with a pair of
runs in the third as Langlois notched an RBI double and another run
scored on a Cummings balk.
The Sharks took the lead for good
with a run in the fourth thanks to an error, and then added three
runs for some needed insurance in the fifth. Ikalina started things
with an RBI single before scoring on a wild pitch. Sophomore
James Sposa (Coconut Creek, Fla.) added
an RBI single.
Franklin Pierce rallied with three
in the seventh, sparked by an RBI double by Duplissie and capped by
an RBI triple by Pennell. Hart also drove in a run with a single.
The Ravens threatened in the ninth as Shea led off with a single
through the right side, stole second with one out and reached third
on a fly out, but was stranded there as Hart flew out to left.
Boxscore
& Play-by-Play
In the nightcap, Franklin Pierce
scored three runs in the first, marking the 14th time in
19 games this season the Ravens have scored in their first at bat,
and opened a 9-3 advantage after three innings and never looked
back.
Duplissie led the way, hitting
3-for-4 with a double, homer (grand slam), three runs scored and
seven RBI. He also picked up his third win on the mound, yielding
five runs, four earned, while scattering 11 hits and two walks with
two strikeouts over six innings.
Pennell was 2-4 with two RBI, while
Olson finished 3-4 with a double, RBI and three runs scored. Shea
rounded out the Ravens with multiple hits, going 2-4 with two runs
scored. Senior Mike Feetham (Quincy, Mass./North
Quincy) roped an RBI double in his lone at bat, while
senior Randy Fenton (Worcester,
Mass./Doherty) and sophomore Matt
Anderson (Medford, Mass./Medford) each drove in runs.
Sophomore Matt Mindick
(Boynton Beach, Fla./American Hertage Delray) was a
perfect 3-for-3 at the plate for Nova Southeastern with a run
scored. Langlois was 2-3 with an RBI and run scored, while senior
Sean McFadden (Hollywood,
Fla./Chaminade-Madonna) and junior Chris
Reynolds (Pembroke Pines, Fla./Western) were both 2-4
with an
RBI.
Sophomore Jon Spier
(Plantation, Fla./Chaminade-Madonna) suffered the
loss (3-2) as he was hit for seven earned runs on four hits and
four walks with a strikeout in two innings of work. Franklin Pierce
touched up four of the five Shark pitchers for runs in the contest,
with just freshman Kevin Padilla (Plantation,
Fla./Plantation) escaping unscathed, yielding a hit
over the final two thirds of an inning in the seventh.
Franklin Pierce held a 3-2 lead
after an inning play, before breaking it open with six runs over
the next two frames. Duplissie's grand slam with one out in the
second got things going, before Fenton collected an RBI single and
Olson belted an RBI double in the third after NSU scored a single
run in the home half of the second.
The Sharks added a run in the fourth
on an error to draw within 9-4, but the Ravens scored three in the
sixth sparked by an RBI single from Pennell and added three more in
the seventh to end all hopes of a comeback. Duplissie rounded out
his RBI total with a run-scoring single in the seventh before
Feetham roped a two-run pinch-hit double.
Boxscore
& Play-by-Play
Franklin Pierce (15-4, 0-0 NE-10) is
back in action on Tuesday when it opens its Northeast-10 Conference
schedule with a key match up with Southern Connecticut State
University in a rematch of the 2005 NCAA Northeast Regional
Championship. The Owls posted a 1-0 victory over the Ravens to
advance to the Division II World Series in Montgomery, Ala., last
May. Nova Southeastern (19-11, 3-3 SSC) hosts Florida Tech on
Tuesday at 6 p.m.
