Ravens pitching tosses two shutouts in 8-0 and 4-0 wins and
match single-season win mark
RINDGE, N.H. (April 22,
2006) - Franklin Pierce, ranked 15th in both
this week's Collegiate Baseball magazine and National
Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division II polls,
matched its program record for wins in a season with a pair of
shutout victories in sweeping a Northeast-10 Conference baseball
doubleheader from Southern New Hampshire University at Dr. Arthur
and Martha Pappas Field this afternoon.
Franklin Pierce took game one, 8-0,
as junior right-handers Daniel Fournier (Worcester,
Mass./Holy Name) and Eric Grabowski
(Worcester, Mass./David Prouty) combined for the
shutout, while senior All-American Bryan Duplissie
(East Swanzey, N.H./Monadnock Regional) fired the
Ravens to a 4-0 victory in the nightcap with a three-hit shutout.
Senior Mike Chambers
(Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry), junior
Garrett Olson (Norway, Maine/Oxford
Hills) and sophomore Matt Anderson (Medford,
Mass./Medford) each hit a combined 3-for-7 in the doubleheader.
Anderson scored three runs to go with a double and two RBI, while
Chambers had three runs scored and an RBI.
Olson also became the fifth member
of the program's 200-hit club with a single up the middle in the
first inning of game one. Fournier became just the fifth pitcher in
program history to reach 200 career strikeouts in game one as well.
Franklin Pierce matches its
single-season win record as the two wins give them 32 through 41
games this spring. The Ravens are now winners of ten of 11 and 15
of 17.
Franklin Pierce 8, Southern
New Hampshire 0 (Game 1)
In game one, Franklin Pierce broke open a 1-0 game with
six runs in the sixth as the Ravens sent 11 batters to the plate in
the decisive frame. It was more than enough for Fournier and
Grabowski as they combined on the seven-hit shutout.
Fournier scattered the seven hits
with 11 strikeouts and just a walk (season-low) over the first
seven innings to collect his fifth win of the season (5-2). The 11
strikeouts marked the fourth double-digit performance of the season
and second-straight this week. Grabowski retired all six batters he
faced, striking out two, to close the game out.
Chambers was a perfect 3-for-3 at
the plate with two walks, two runs scored and an RBI for Franklin
Pierce, while Anderson hit 2-4 with a double, two runs scored and
two RBI. Duplissie batted 1-2 with an RBI and run scored, while
Olson finished 2-4 with an RBI. Junior Jake Christman
(Newton, Mass./Newton South) contributed an RBI
double.
Senior Tony Aucoin
(Southbridge, Mass./Southbridge) was the lone
Southern New Hampshire batter with multiple hits, finishing
3-for-4.
Senior Casey O'Brien
(Newmarket, N.H./Newmarket) suffered his second loss
of the season (4-2) as he surrendered six earned runs on six hits
and six walks with four strikeouts over 5.2 innings.
Franklin Pierce got on the board
with a single run in the third as Chambers singled to left center
with two out and after Olson walked, scored on a Duplissie single
to right.
The Ravens broke the game open with
six in the sixth. O'Brien walked two, before Christman contributed
his RBI double with one out. Anderson followed with a two-run
double and later scored on a wild pitch. Chambers added an RBI
single to right in his second at bat of the frame. Franklin Pierce
rounded out the scoring in the eighth as Anderson led off with a
single through the right side and later scored on an Olson single
up the middle with two out.
Boxscore
& Play-by-Play
Franklin Pierce 4, Southern
New Hampshire 0 (Game 2)
In the nightcap, Duplissie tossed his second-straight
complete-game with a three-hit shutout to lead Franklin Pierce to
victory. Duplissie struck out six and walked two in earning his
fifth win of the season (5-1). He retired 16 of the last 17 batters
he faced in the contest, including 15-straight before yielding a
two-out infield single in the
ninth.
Senior Elliot Shea
(Jaffrey, N.H./Conant) paced the Ravens offense as he
hit 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and three RBI. Classmate
Randy Fenton (Worcester, Mass./Doherty)
was 2-2 with a walk, stolen base and two runs scored, while
Anderson was 1-3 with a run scored.
Senior Wayne Parker
(Manchester, N.H./Manchester) hit 1-for-2 for
Southern New Hampshire. Aucoin also notched a hit to finish with
four on the afternoon.
Freshman Greg Lyons
(Canton, Mass./Canton) went the distance on the mound
for the Penmen in a losing effort (1-4), allowing four runs, three
earned, on eight hits with five strikeouts and three walks over the
eight innings.
Franklin Pierce got the only run it
would need in the first, marking the 25th time in 41
games this season the Ravens have scored in their first at bat, but
snapping a five-game scoring drought in the first inning. Chambers
reached on an error and later scored on a second error after
Christman reached on an infield single.
The Ravens added another run in the
fourth, after SNHU retired the first two batters of the frame.
Fenton singled, stole second and scored on a Shea double to right
center. Franklin Pierce added two insurance runs in the sixth,
again after the first two batters were retired. Anderson singled
through the left side, and after Fenton drew a walk, Shea drove
them in with a double down the leftfield line.
Boxscore
& Play-by-Play
Franklin Pierce (32-9, 17-5 NE-10)
and Southern New Hampshire (18-16, 9-13 NE-10) are scheduled to
wrap up their three-game weekend series in Manchester, N.H.,
tomorrow at 1 p.m., but the weather forecast is not very favorable.
Please check the Franklin Pierce or SNHU website Sunday morning for
postponement information. Should tomorrow's game be postponed, the
Ravens will return to action on Monday for a rescheduled Conference
game at the College of Saint Rose at 3:30 p.m.
