Duplissie goes the distance on the mound, gets two key
hits and an RBI to lead Ravens
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (May 31, 2006) -
12th-ranked Franklin Pierce avoided elimination for the
second-straight day and got some revenge along the way with a 7-2
victory over No. 6 Ashland University in game nine of the 2006 NCAA
Division II Baseball Championships at Paterson Field this
afternoon.
Franklin Pierce (46-12) advances to
the semifinal round to face top-ranked University of Tampa (52-6)
tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. (EDT). The Ravens will need to defeat
the South Region Champion Spartans twice to reach Saturday's
National Championship (8 p.m., EDT). Tampa eliminated Franklin
Pierce in the semifinals of the 2003 Baseball Championships with an
18-9 decision. The Ravens have now reached the semifinal round in
both trips to the Division II World Series. Ashland sees its season
come to a close at 47-17.
Franklin Pierce got revenge for a
14-4 setback to Ashland in the teams opening game of the World
Series on Sunday afternoon.
"I'm proud of our guys," said
Ashland Head Coach John Schaly. "It was a
great year, we had a lot of fun. This isn't the way we wanted it to
end, but that doesn't take anything away from what (the team) did
this year."
One day after senior right-hander
Tyler Cummings (South Paris, Maine/Oxford
Hills) put Franklin Pierce on his back with ten
scoreless innings in a 4-0 win over Emporia State University,
classmate and two-time All-American Bryan Duplissie
(East Swanzey, N.H./Monadnock Regional) did the same
today. Duplissie went the distance to collect his seventh win of
the season (7-1), allowing just the two earned runs while
scattering nine hits with two strikeouts and a walk. He is now 3-0
in three career NCAA Tournament starts for the Ravens with a 1.39
ERA.
"I just concentrated on trying to
go deep and give some of our pitchers some extra rest," said
Duplissie.
"Give him credit," Schaly said of
Duplissie. "He did a great job. I thought we would score more runs
than we did."
Duplissie also helped his cause at
the plate, hitting 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored. Sophomore
battery mate Matt Anderson (Medford,
Mass./Medford) also hit 2-4 with a double, RBI and
run scored, while senior Randy Fenton (Worcester,
Mass./Doherty) was 2-4. Senior Mike
Chambers (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) finished
with two hits and a run scored, while classmate Elliot
Shea (Jaffrey, N.H./Conant) and junior
Kim Hart (Gorham, Maine/Gorham) each
chipped in two RBI.
"I don't really think about
(hitting) while I pitch," said Duplissie. "I just seem to hit
better and help myself out when I'm pitching."
Senior Jim Barry
(Mentor, Ohio), who had three hits and three RBI
against Franklin Pierce in Sunday's opening win, suffered the loss
on the mound. He was hit for four runs, three earned, on six hits
with three strikeouts and three walks in six-plus innings of work.
Barry moved to short after his pitching effort was done and
collected a hit in his only plate appearance.
Senior David Waters
(West Salem, Ohio) paced the Eagles on offense, going
3-for-4 with a run scored. Junior Justin Randall
(Sarnia, Ontario) was 2-4 with an RBI.
Franklin Pierce jumped ahead
against Ashland again with a run in the second. Freshman
Scott Savastano (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth
North) drew a one-out walk, stole second and scored
on a two-out single to right by Hart. The Ravens added two more in
the third, with the benefit of two Ashland errors. Chambers singled
to left with two outs and advanced to second when the ball got past
Waters. After an intentional walk to junior All-American
Garrett Olson (Norway, Maine/Oxford
Hills), Duplissie dumped a single into right to drive
in Chambers. Olson scored the second run when the Eagles catcher
threw the ball down the leftfield line on a failed pickoff attempt
at third.
The Ravens third inning rally came
just after Waters was thrown out at the plate by Fenton after
Randall singled to left.
Ashland closed the gap with two in
the sixth as the Eagles got the first two batters on with a Waters
single and hit batter. Randall followed with an RBI single to right
and the second run scored on a fielder's choice.
Franklin Pierce added some
insurance in the seventh as Anderson led off with a double and
later scored when Shea reached on a fielder's choice. The Ravens
tacked on three more in the eighth. Duplissie led off with a single
and later scored on a dropped fly ball in right. Anderson delivered
an RBI single to left center with one out and Shea added an RBI
single to center with two gone.
"I'm happy for our team and for our
program with how we came out and played today," said Franklin
Pierce Head Coach Jayson King. "(Ashland)
is a good, gritty team and they played hard today, too. I'm just
glad that we get to play on another day."
Boxscore
& Play-by-Play
