Fournier leads combined shutout
effort with seven scoreless innings
RINDGE, N.H. (April 17,
2006) - Franklin Pierce, ranked 15th in this
week's Collegiate Baseball magazine Division II coaches
poll, finished off its three-game weekend series sweep of Bentley
College with an 8-0 victory in Northeast-10 Conference baseball
action at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field this afternoon.
Junior right-hander
Daniel Fournier (Worcester, Mass./Holy
Name) led three Franklin Pierce pitchers who combined
on a six-hit shutout with seven scoreless innings to pick up his
fourth win of the season (4-2). He scattered five hits and three
walks while striking out ten, his third double-digit strikeout
performance of the season. Sophomore Kyle Graham
(Westboro, Mass./Westboro) and junior
Neil Cacciola (Wakefield,
Mass./Wakefield) combined to allow just three base
runners over the last two scoreless
frames.
Senior All-American
Bryan Duplissie (East Swanzey, N.H./Monadnock
Regional) was 2-for-4 with a double - the lone extra
base hit of the contest - as Franklin Pierce took advantage of
eight walks and five Bentley errors. Senior Randy
Fenton (Worcester, Mass./Doherty) was 2-4 with a pair
of stolen bases and two runs scored, while junior Jake
Christman (Newton, Mass./Newton South) was 1-3 with
two RBI. Freshman Scott Savastano (Plymouth,
Mass./Plymouth North) notched two RBI without the
benefit of a hit, while junior All-American Garrett
Olson (Norway, Maine/Oxford Hills) finished 1-5 with
a stolen base, RBI and two runs scored.
Senior Bill Dacier
(Medway, Mass./Medway) was 2-for-3 for Bentley with a
stolen base, while classmate GJ Vicente (Salem,
N.H./Central Catholic) hit 2-4.
Freshman Brett Fistes
(South Deerfield, Mass./Greenfield) suffered his
first collegiate loss (3-1), surrendering seven runs, six earned,
on seven hits with four strikeouts, but was hampered by eight walks
over 5.2 innings.
Franklin Pierce jumped ahead with
two runs in the first, marking the 24th time in 35 games
this season the Ravens have scored in their first at bat. Senior
Elliott Shea (Jaffrey, N.H./Conant) was
hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, stole second, and then
scored on an Olson single up the middle with one out. Olson later
scored on a Savastano ground out after Duplissie pushed him to
third with a double down the rightfield line.
The Ravens added two more in the
second with the aid of Bentley's first error of the afternoon. Shea
drove in a run with a single through the left side, but a second
run scored when the Falcons leftfielder tried to catch a runner
going to third, but threw the ball into the Ravens dugout. Franklin
Pierce scored single runs in the third and fourth. Christman
notched an RBI single with two out in the third, before senior
Mike Chambers (Londonderry,
N.H./Londonderry) drove one in with a sacrifice fly
in the fourth.
Franklin Pierce rounded out the
scoring with single runs in the sixth and eighth. Christman drew a
bases loaded walk to chase Fistes in the sixth and two errors from
Bentley's shortstop set up the Ravens final run in the eighth.
Franklin Pierce (27-8, 12-4 NE-10),
winners of five-straight and ten of 11, is back in action tomorrow
when it hosts American International College at 3:30 p.m. Bentley
(13-15-1, 7-10 NE-10) hosts Saint Anselm College tomorrow at 3:30
p.m.
Boxscore
& Play-by-Play
