Graham & Manton lift River Hawks to victory in rubber match
of three-game weekend set
RINDGE, N.H. (April 29,
2007) - Franklin Pierce, ranked eighth in this week's
National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division
II poll and 15th in the Collegiate Baseball
magazine Division II rankings, fell to the University of
Massachusetts Lowell, 5-1, in Northeast-10 Conference baseball
action at Dr. Arthur & Martha Pappas Field this afternoon.
Senior lefthander Kevin
Graham (Billerica, Mass./Billerica) kept the Franklin
Pierce bats at bay and junior Tim Manton (Swansea,
Mass./Joseph Case) led the offense as UMass Lowell took
two out of the three meetings in the weekend series. Graham
improved to 3-2 this season as he allowed an earned run on six hits
with three strikeouts and three walks over 7.1 innings of work.
Senior Pat Donovan (Lowell, Mass./Lowell) earned
his 12th save of the season with 1.2 innings of no-hit
shutout relief.
Manton hit 2-for-3 with a double,
stolen base and two runs scored, while senior Jerod
Edmondson (Johnson City, N.Y./Johnson City) was 2-4 with a
stolen base, run scored and RBI. Senior Patrick Wilson
(Dracut, Mass./Bishop Guertin) batted 2-5 with an
RBI.
Senior Vinny Pennell
(Spencer, Mass./David Prouty) led Franklin Pierce as he
hit 2-for-5. Junior Kevin Renaud (Southbridge,
Mass./Southbridge) was 1-3 with a run scored, while
classmate Matt Anderson (Medford, Mass./Medford)
drove in the Ravens lone run.
Junior Keith Renaud
(Southbridge, Mass./Southbridge) suffered his first loss
(5-1) of the season, yielding four earned runs on seven hits with
five strikeouts and two walks over 4.1 innings.
UMass Lowell jumped on the board
with a single run in the top of the first without the benefit of a
hit. Manton drew a leadoff walk, stole second and advanced to third
on a wild pitch before scoring on a sacrifice fly by senior
Sean Patno (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford). The
River Hawks doubled their advantage in the fourth as senior
Steve Paddock (Milford, Mass./Milford) led off
with an infield single and later scored when sophomore Tim
Keene (Berlin, N.H./Berlin) singled up the middle with one
out.
UMass Lowell broke the game open
with three in the fifth. Edmondson and Wilson delivered RBI singles
and the final run scored when junior Anthony Santos
(Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford) reached on a fielder's
choice.
Franklin Pierce broke the River
Hawks shutout streak at 18 innings dating back to the seventh
inning of the first game of the weekend set with a single run in
the eighth. The Ravens loaded the bases with two out to chase
Graham and Anderson was hit by a Donovan pitch to force in the run.
Franklin Pierce (38-8, 23-4 NE-10)
is back in action tomorrow when it visits Merrimack College for a
Conference clash at 3:30 p.m. The Ravens are back home on Wednesday
when they conclude the regular season against Saint Anselm College
at 3:30 p.m. UMass Lowell (28-15, 22-4 NE-10) hosts Mercy College
for a non-conference contest tomorrow at 3 p.m.
Boxscore
& Play-by-Play
