Ravens roll to 13-4 and 16-1 victories to run win streak to
eight games
RINDGE, N.H. (April 9,
2007) - Franklin Pierce, ranked 13th in this
week's Collegiate Baseball magazine poll, returned to the
diamond after a six-day layoff and swept a Northeast-10 Conference
doubleheader from Merrimack College, returning from a nine-day
break because of weather, at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field
this evening. The Ravens collected a 13-4 victory in game one,
before rolling to a 16-1 triumph in the nightcap - the first home
night game in program history.
Franklin Pierce banged out 33 hits
in scoring 29 times in the twin bill as senior Cory
Shepherd (Worcester, Mass./Burncoat) and junior
Matt Anderson (Medford, Mass./Medford) both hit a
combined 6-for-7 in the doubleheader, with Shepherd notching a pair
of doubles with three runs scored, a stolen base and five RBI and
Anderson collecting five runs scored, a double and RBI. Freshman
Kevin Rivers (Bristol, Conn./Bristol Eastern) hit
4-7 with five runs scored, two doubles, a triple, home run and four
RBI.
Sophomore Jeff Bercume
(Leicester, Mass./St. Johns Shrewsbury) was a combined
3-for-7 at the plate for Merrimack with an RBI.
Franklin Pierce 13,
Merrimack 4
Franklin Pierce broke open a 3-1 game with ten runs over the sixth
and seventh innings in claiming the game one
victory.
Cory Shepherd hit 3-for-3 with a
walk, double, stolen base, two runs scored and three RBI for
Franklin Pierce, while Matt Anderson was 4-5 with a double, two
runs scored and RBI. Kevin Rivers hit 2-4 with a pair of doubles,
two runs scored and an RBI, while senior Vinny Pennell
(Spencer, Mass./David Prouty) finished 2-5 with an RBI and
two runs scored.
Sophomore Tom Cote
(Swanzey, N.H./Monadnock Regional) picked up his fourth
win of the season (4-1), allowing an earned run on five hits with
three strikeouts and four walks over seven innings.
Jeff Bercume hit 2-for-3 with a
walk and RBI for Merrimack, while sophomore Mike Andre
(Medford, Mass./Medford) finished 2-4 with an RBI and run
scored. Sophomore Doug Heald (Tewksbury,
Mass./Tewksbury) was 1-3 with an RBI.
Senior Brian DeMasse
(Reading, Mass./Reading) took the loss (0-2), yielding six
earned runs on ten hits with four strikeouts and four walks over
six innings.
Merrimack got on the board first
with a single run in the second as junior Ryan Shepard
(Andover, Mass./Andover) drew a leadoff walk, reached
second on a balk, third on a wild pitch and then scored on a single
up the middle by Andre. Franklin Pierce answered with a pair in the
home half as Shepherd roped a two-run double to right center with
two outs. The Ravens added a third in the third with an RBI single
from senior Kim Hart (Gorham, Maine/Gorham), that
scored Anderson (double).
Franklin Pierce broke the game open
with three in the sixth and seven more in the seventh. Pennell
drove in one with an infield single before junior Keith
Renaud (Southbridge, Mass./Southbridge) collected a
two-run single to left center in the sixth. Rivers had an RBI
double, while Shepherd and Anderson each notched RBI singles in the
seventh.
BOXSCORE
& PLAY-BY-PLAY
Franklin Pierce 16,
Merrimack 1
Franklin Pierce scored all 16 runs over the first five innings in
posting a 16-1 decision in the nightcap.
Cory Shepherd was 3-for-4 with a
double, run scored and two RBI for Franklin Pierce, while Matt
Anderson finished 2-2 with a walk and three runs scored. Kevin
Rivers was 2-3 with a triple, home run, three runs scored and three
RBI. Vinny Pennell finished 2-5 with a pair of triples, two runs
scored and three RBI, while Keith Renaud was 2-4 with a stolen
base, run scored and three RBI and extended his team leading
hitting streak to 20 games - just one shy of assistant coach
Scott Loiseau's program record streak of 21 games
set between the 2001 and 2002 seasons. Senior Jake
Christman (Newton, Mass./Newton South) chipped in three
hits and an RBI.
Sophomore Mike Adams
(Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) collected the win (2-0)
for the Ravens, scattering three hits and a walk over six shutout
innings with a career-high matching nine strikeouts.
Jeff Bercume was 1-4 in the
nightcap for Merrimack, while freshman John Katsetos
(Warwick, R.I./Toll Gate) was 1-1 with a walk, triple and
RBI. Senior Rick Sotiropoulos (Ipswich,
Mass./Ipswich) hit 1-3.
Junior Mike Chandler
(Hamilton, Mass./Hamilton-Wenham) took the loss (2-2),
allowing five runs, four earned, on four hits with two strikeouts
and two walks over two innings.
Franklin Pierce scored all the runs
it would need in a three-run first. Pennell led off with a triple
and scored on a ground out. Kim Hart added an RBI single and Rivers
scored while Hart got intentionally caught in a run down between
first and second. The Ravens added two more in the second before
breaking the game open with five in the third. Rivers collected an
RBI triple down the right field line and Pennell added a two-run
triple to right before Keith Renaud drove in a run with an infield
single.
Rivers notched a two-run homer in
the fourth and Shepherd's two-run double highlighted a four-run
fifth.
BOXSCORE
& PLAY-BY-PLAY
Franklin Pierce (22-4, 7-0 NE-10)
is back in action tomorrow for a doubleheader at Assumption College
beginning at 2 p.m. Merrimack (5-13, 2-5 NE-10) visits Southern
Connecticut State University tomorrow at 3:30 p.m.
