River Hawks open 5-0 lead after three innings, use four
pitchers to hold off Ravens
LOWELL, Mass. (April 11,
2006) - The University of Massachusetts Lowell, ranked No.
30 in this week's Collegiate Baseball magazine Division II
poll, held off 22nd-ranked Franklin Pierce for a 5-2
victory in Northeast-10 Conference baseball action at LeLacheur
Park tonight.
UMass Lowell used four pitchers to
hold off Franklin Pierce after building a 5-0 lead after three
innings. Sophomore James Barry (Chelmsford,
Mass./Chelmsford) earned his first win of the season
(1-0) with three innings of two-hit shutout relief, striking out
one and walking another. Barry entered the game after junior
Ron Nelson (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury)
yielded a single and a walk to start the fifth and got out of the
inning with a double play and a fly out. Junior Pat
Donovan (Lowell, Mass./Lowell) earned his seventh
save of the season with two innings of two-hit shutout relief,
walking one and striking out two.
Junior Steve Paddock
(Milford, Mass./Milford) led the offense as he hit
2-for-4 with three RBI. Junior Patrick Wilson (Dracut,
Mass./Bishop Guertin) was 2-3 with an RBI and two
runs scored, while sophomore Tim Manton (Swansea,
Mass./Joseph Case) was 1-2 with a pair of walks, two
stolen bases and two runs scored.
The River Hawks numbers two through
four hitters were a combined 5-for-9 on the night, while the rest
of the lineup was 0-for-20 with a walk. Franklin Pierce suffered
just its second loss in 21 games when out-hitting its opponent
(19-2) this season, finishing with an 8-5 advantage.
Junior All-American
Garrett Olson (Norway, Maine/Oxford
Hills) was 2-for-4 with a run scored for Franklin
Pierce. Senior Randy Fenton (Worcester,
Mass./Doherty) hit 2-4, while sophomore
Matt Anderson (Medford, Mass./Medford)
finished 1-2 with an RBI. Senior Mike Chambers
(Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) chipped in with a
double - the lone extra base hit of the night.
Junior right-hander
Daniel Fournier (Worcester, Mass./Holy
Name) suffered his second loss of the season (3-2) as
he was hit for five runs, four earned, on five hits and four walks
with six strikeouts over 6.2 innings. Fournier did not allow a hit
after the third inning, and walked just one before issuing a
two-out walk in the seventh to end his night.
After holding Franklin Pierce
scoreless in its first at bat for just the sixth time in 30 games
this season, UMass Lowell struck for three in the home half. A walk
and a bunt single set up an RBI single through the right side by
Wilson before Paddock followed with a two-run single through the
left side. Fournier settled down to strikeout the next three
batters to get out of the inning.
The River Hawks added two more in
the third as Paddock registered an RBI single, with a second run
scoring thanks to a throwing error. Franklin Pierce answered with a
pair in the fourth with the aid of three walks. Senior
Mike Feetham (Quincy, Mass./North Quincy)
drew a bases-loaded walk and Anderson drove in the second run with
a sacrifice fly.
Franklin Pierce, who left 11
runners on base, ran out of a threat in the third as Anderson was
thrown out trying to score on a Chambers fly out. The Ravens had
the first two runners on base in the fifth, but came away empty
handed, and had baserunners in each of the last seven innings.
Franklin Pierce (22-8, 7-4 NE-10)
and UMass Lowell (24-5, 11-3 NE-10) round out their two-game
midweek series at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field in Rindge,
N.H., on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. The Ravens will host Merrimack
College tomorrow at 3:30 p.m.
Boxscore
& Play-by-Play
