Cummings notches record 21st
career win on the mound, Shea belts record four doubles
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. (April
10, 2006) - Franklin Pierce, ranked No. 22 in this week's
Collegiate Baseball magazine Division II coach's poll, had
a record-setting afternoon in posting an 11-1 victory over
Merrimack College in Northeast-10 Conference baseball action at
Warrior Baseball Field.
Junior right-hander
Tyler Cummings (South Paris, Maine/Oxford
Hills) turned in eight strong innings to pick up his
fourth win of the season (4-1), allowing just an unearned run on
four hits with eight strikeouts and no walks. The win was the
21st of Cummings' career as he takes over sole
possession of first place on Franklin Pierce's all-time victory
list, ahead of Chris Shank and Jon White, who each compiled 20
career wins. Cummings (21-12 in his career) did not allow a hit
over his final six innings of work this afternoon.
Senior Elliott Shea
(Jaffrey, N.H./Conant) enjoyed a record setting day
for the Ravens as well. He hit 5-for-6 with a school-record four
doubles to go with five RBI and a run scored. Shea's five hits
matches the program's single-game mark, while the four doubles
surpass the previous record (one shy of the NCAA Division II mark)
of three two-base hits accomplished four times, the last coming by
Shea himself against UMass Lowell on May 20, 2005, in an NCAA
Tournament game.
Freshman Scott
Savastano (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) was
2-for-4 with a stolen base and two RBI for the Ravens. Senior
Mike Chambers (Londonderry,
N.H./Londonderry) hit 2-5 with a double, run scored
and RBI, while classmate Randy Fenton (Worcester,
Mass./Doherty) finished 2-4 with a pair of stolen
bases, two runs scored and an RBI. Sophomore Matt
Anderson (Medford, Mass./Medford) also scored three
times.
Freshman Jeff Bercume
(Worcester, Mass./St. John's of Shrewsbury) had two
of Merrimack's four hits as he finished 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Freshman Doug Heald (Tewksbury,
Mass./Tewksbury) hit 1-3.
Freshman Nick Buckman
(Attleboro, Mass./Attleboro) suffered the loss for
the Warriors (0-1) as he was hit for seven earned runs on eight
hits with a strikeout and two walks over 5.1
innings.
Franklin Pierce jumped ahead with a
pair of runs in the first marking the 22nd time in 29
games this season the Ravens have scored in their first at bat.
Shea led off with his first double of the afternoon and scored on a
single by junior Garrett Olson (Norway, Maine/Oxford
Hills) with one out. Olson later scored on a
Savastano ground out. Merrimack cut the lead in half in the home
half as Bercume led off with a single and later scored on a
throwing error by the Ravens catcher.
Franklin Pierce added two more in
the third thanks to a pair of Merrimack errors. Chambers led off
with a double and later scored on an error, as did Olson, who
earlier reached on the error that scored Chambers. Anderson singled
and later scored on Shea's second double of the afternoon in the
fourth.
The Ravens broke the game open with
two in the sixth and three in the seventh. Shea roped a two-run
double in the sixth to put Franklin Pierce up 7-1. Fenton sparked
the seventh with an RBI single, while Shea followed with a two-run
single, for a 10-1 lead. The Ravens capped the scoring with an RBI
single from Chambers in the ninth.
Franklin Pierce (22-7, 6-3 NE-10)
is back in action tomorrow when opens a huge two-game midweek
series with No. 30 UMass Lowell at LeLachuer Park in Lowell, Mass.,
at 7 p.m. The Ravens return home on Wednesday to host Merrimack at
3:30 p.m. Merrimack (8-14, 4-7 NE-10) hosts Assumption College
tomorrow at 3:30 p.m., before heading to Dr. Pappas Field on
Wednesday.
Boxscore
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