Ravens advance to regional championship for third time in
four years
RINDGE, N.H. (May 21, 2006)
- Top-seeded Franklin Pierce built a 14-2 lead in the top
of the sixth, but was forced to withstand a furious comeback effort
by fifth-seeded Dominican College for a 15-13 victory in game nine
of the 2006 NCAA Division II Northeast Regional at Dr. Arthur and
Martha Pappas Field this morning.
Franklin Pierce (43-11) advances to
the championship round of the regional for the third time in four
years. The Ravens await the winner of today's second game between
Dominican (42-17) and fourth-seeded Southern Connecticut State
University (35-18) for a title game Monday at 11 a.m.
Franklin Pierce seeks its second
trip to the NCAA Division II Championships in Montgomery, Ala.,
after earning a trip to the World Series in 2003. The Ravens lost
to Southern Connecticut here at Dr. Pappas Field in the 2005
regional final.
Senior second baseman
Mike Chambers (Londonderry,
N.H./Londonderry) led the 17-hit offensive barrage
for Franklin Pierce, going 4-for-6 with a pair of home runs, a
double and four RBI. Classmate Randy Fenton (Worcester,
Mass./Doherty) was 2-4 with the first grand slam of
his career and two runs scored, while junior Vinny
Pennell (Spencer, Mass./David Prouty) was 3-6 with
with two runs scored.
Senior Elliot Shea
(Jaffrey, N.H./Conant) hit 2-5 with a double, homer,
two runs scored and three RBI. His leadoff home run in the sixth
was the 247th hit of his career, surpassing the program
record of 246 set by assistant coach Scott Loiseau (1999-2002). The
Ravens, which entered the game with a regional-best 11 home runs,
belted six more this morning and six different players notched
multiple-hits in their 17-hit attack.
Junior right-hander
Arric Mather (Danville, N.H./Winnacunett)
picked up the win (9-1), though we has hit for six earned runs on
nine hits and a walk with one strikeout in 5.2 innings of work.
Mather held the Chargers scoreless on three hits through the first
four innings before yielding a pair of runs in the fifth.
Sophomore Sean Brown
(Massapequa, N.Y./St. Anthony's) paced Dominican,
going 3-for-5 with a home run, two doubles, three runs scored and
five RBI. Senior Chad Duesler (Northville,
N.Y./Northville Central) was 2-3 with three RBI.
Senior Mike Zani (Goshen, N.Y./Goshen)
and freshman Jose Made (Binghamton,
N.Y./Binghamton) were both 3-6 with a double and RBI.
Sophomore Tommy Mejia
(Brooklyn, N.Y./Newton) suffered the loss (8-3),
allowing 14 runs, 13 earned, on 13 hits and four walks with two
strikeouts in six innings of work. Sophomore Michael
Mondesir (Jamaica, N.Y./Holy Cross) and freshman
Brendan Bohan (Rutherford, N.J./St.
Mary's) combined to allow just an earned run on three
hits with a strikeout and walk over the final three innings to give
the Chargers a chance to come
back.
The game was scoreless through the
first innings, before Franklin Pierce plated seven runs in the
fourth. Shea sparked the inning with a two-run double to left,
while Chambers delivered his first home run of the day with a
three-run blast to left. The Ravens took advantage of three
Dominican errors in the inning for two more runs.
Dominican got two runs back in the
fifth as Brown posted an RBI double and later scored on a single to
center by Zani. However, the Ravens scored seven more in the sixth
to open a 14-2 advantage. Shea, Chambers and junior All-American
Garrett Olson (Norway, Maine/Oxford
Hills) hit back-to-back-to-back homers to leadoff the
inning. Fenton capped the rally with his first career grand slam
with two outs.
Dominican drew within eight runs
with four in the home half of the sixth. Duesler posted a sacrifice
fly with the bases loaded, then Brown belted a three-run homer to
left center with two-out that chased Mather. Duesler delivered a
two-run single to center as the Chargers scored twice in the
eighth.
After a solo homer from senior
All-American Bryan Duplissie (East Swanzey,
N.H./Monadnock Regional) in the top of the ninth,
Dominican rallied in the home half. Brown's RBI double down the
line drew the Chargers within 15-11 with one out. Junior
Keith Gebert (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xavarian)
followed with an RBI infield single, before Made smacked an RBI
double to pull within two runs with two out. Senior reliever
Mike Farrell (Russell, Mass./Gateway
Regional) escaped the jam, by forcing a ground out to
shortstop with runners on second and third to end the game.
Boxscore
& Play-by-Play
