Ravens overcome early deficits of 4-0 and 5-2 in posting
12th-straight win
RINDGE, N.H. (April 11,
2007) - Franklin Pierce, ranked 8th in this
week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA)
Division II poll and 13th in the Collegiate
Baseball magazine rankings, rallied from an early 4-0 deficit
to claim a 9-5 victory over Bentley College in Northeast-10
Conference baseball action at DeFelice Field this afternoon.
The win for Franklin Pierce is its
12th-straight, matching the program record for the
second time this season. The Ravens trailed 4-0 after three innings
and 5-2 after four before mounting their comeback.
Junior Matt Anderson
(Medford, Mass./Medford) paced the Franklin Pierce offense
as he hit 3-for-4 with a stolen base, two runs scored and an RBI.
Freshman Kevin Rivers (Bristol, Conn./Bristol
Eastern) hit 1-3 with a stolen base, run scored and three
RBI, while senior Jake Christman (Newton, Mass./Newton
South) chipped in an RBI and stolen
base.
Sophomore Alex Szymanski
(Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) picked up his second win
of the season (2-0) with a strong relief outing. He scattered three
hits over 5.2 shutout innings with no walks and no strikeouts.
Ravens starter Jeff Paulsen (Framingham,
Mass./Framingham) surrendered five runs, four earned, on
six hits with four strikeouts and a walk in the opening 3.1
innings.
Junior catcher Joe Nardi
(West Hartford, Conn./Hall) led Bentley, hitting 3-for-4
with an RBI and run scored. Freshman Charlie Pagliarulo
(Medford, Mass./Medford) was 2-5 with a double and run
scored, while senior Steve Gath (Reading,
Mass./Reading) tripled and drove in three.
Sophomore Brett Fistes
(South Deerfield, Mass./Greenfield), one of six Falcon
pitchers on the afternoon, was pinned with the loss (2-5),
surrendering three unearned runs on two hits and a walk with one
strikeout in 1.1 innings of relief.
Bentley loaded the bases in the
third with a pair of singles and a hit batter, before Gath cleared
the bases with a triple to left center. Gath scored the fourth
Falcon run when Franklin Pierce shortstop Cory Shepherd's
(Worcester, Mass./Doherty) relay throw went out of
play.
Franklin Pierce got on the board
with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth. Junior Kevin
Renaud (Southbridge, Mass./Southbridge) led off with a
double, followed by an Anderson single. Renaud scored on a
sacrifice fly from Rivers and Anderson later scored on the front
end of a double-steal with Rivers.
The Falcons got one back in the
home half as senior Tom Haugh (Andover, Mass./St. John's
Prep) drew a one-out walk and later scored with Nardi's
single through the left side. Franklin Pierce knotted the score
with three in the fifth, capped by a two-run single by Rivers with
two out. Senior Vinny Pennell (Spencer, Mass./David
Prouty) also scored on a throwing error.
Franklin Pierce scored four runs
off five Bentley errors to take the lead and compete the scoring in
the seventh. Anderson put the Ravens in front with an RBI infield
single and Christman drove in a run while reaching on a fielder's
choice.
Franklin Pierce (25-4, 10-0 NE-10)
is scheduled to return to action on Friday for a makeup game at the
College of Saint Rose at 3:30 p.m. Bentley (10-19, 6-6 NE-10) opens
a three-game NE-10 series with a doubleheader at Pace University
beginning at noon.
Boxscore
& Play-by-Play
