Ravens win record 41st game of regular-season in finale; clinch
at least share of second-straight NE-10 regular season
title.
RINDGE, N.H. (May 2, 2007)
- Franklin Pierce, ranked 12th in this week's
National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division
II poll and 17th in the Collegiate Baseball
magazine rankings, closed out the regular season with a commanding
16-1 victory over Saint Anselm College in Northeast-10 Conference
baseball action at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field this
afternoon.
Franklin Pierce, which notched its
program-record 41st victory of the regular season
(surpassing last season's 40-9 regular season clip), has clinched
at least a share of its second-straight NE-10 regular season title.
The Ravens can claim the title outright should UMass Lowell drop
one of its four final conference contests over the weekend.
Senior preseason All-American
Arric Mather (Danville, N.H./Winnacunnet) carried
a no-hitter into the seventh after facing the minimum through five
and two thirds before settling on seven innings of one-hit shutout
work to earn his fifth win of the season (5-1). He struck out a
season-high seven batters and walked
two.
Junior Kevin Renaud
(Southbridge, Mass./Southbridge) led the Franklin Pierce
offensive attack that piled up a season-high 23 hits as he hit
3-for-4 with a double, triple, stolen base, three runs scored and
two RBI. Sophomore Scott Savastano (Plymouth,
Mass./Plymouth North) was 2-3 with three RBI and two runs
scored, while freshman Kevin Rivers (Bristol, Conn./Bristol
Eastern) finished 2-3 with a double and RBI. Seniors
Kim Hart (Gorham, Maine/Gorham) and Cory
Shepherd (Worcester, Mass./Burncoat) were both 2-2, with
Shepherd contributing an RBI and two runs scored, while Hart scored
once.
Juniors Ryan O'Rourke
(Norwood, Mass./Norwood) and Ryan Gargan (Byfield,
Mass./St. John's) both collected pinch-hit doubles for
Saint Anselm. Senior Jack Reilly (Londonderry, N.H./Loomis
Chafee) suffered the loss (3-7) for the Hawks as he was
hit for 11 runs, seven earned, on 11 hits with a strikeout and a
walk in 2.1
innings.
Franklin Pierce opened up a 13-0
lead after four innings, starting with a pair in the first after
the first two batters of the inning were retired. Renaud starting
things with a double and scored on a single to right by Savastano
who later scored on a single through the left side by junior
Matt Anderson (Medford, Mass./Medford). The Ravens
added four unearned runs in the second, sparked by an RBI single
from Savastano and an RBI double by Rivers.
Franklin Pierce broke the game open
with five in the third, spearheaded by a two-run single by junior
Keith Renaud (Southbridge, Mass./Southbridge), and
added two more in the fourth, capped by an RBI single to center by
Kevin Renaud.
Saint Anselm got its lone run in
the eighth as Gargan doubled with one out and scored on a two-out
double by O'Rourke.
Franklin Pierce (41-8, 26-4 NE-10)
is now off until the double-elimination final four portion of the
2007 Northeast-10 Baseball Championships opens at LeLacheur Park in
Lowell, Mass., on Friday, May 11. The Ravens will await a winner
from first round action on Wednesday, May 9, as the NE-10 regular
season schedule runs through the upcoming weekend. Saint Anselm
concludes its season with a 9-29 record overall, 9-22 in the NE-10.
Boxscore
& Play-by-Play
