Dowd drives in three; Kemp hits first career home run

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. (March 17, 2010) – Sophomore catcher Mike Dowd (East Bridgewater, Mass.) drove in three runs on Wednesday afternoon, but the No. 12/20 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team dropped a 9-6 decision to defending national champion Lynn in non-conference play at McCusker Sports Complex. Junior shortstop Johnny Broderick went 2-for-5 with a three-run double in the victory for Lynn.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 9-3 (0-0 Northeast-10), while Lynn improves to 10-14-1 (1-2 Sunshine State) with the victory.

Lynn opened the scoring with a pair of runs in the home half of the first inning. Senior second baseman Einar Atencio led off with a walk, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by junior left fielder Dane Derstine and took third on a wild pitch. Senior first baseman Chris Chavez followed and knocked a single back up the middle to drive home the first run of the game. Chavez moved to second on a wild pitch and scored two batters later on a fielder's choice after Franklin Pierce senior second baseman Cody Kauffman (Blue Bell, Pa.) threw away the second half of a double-play attempt.

Franklin Pierce answered immediately and claimed a 3-2 lead in the top of the second inning. With one out, freshman center fielder Nick LaCroix (Grafton, Mass.) worked a walk and scored when freshman shortstop Dan Kemp (Sturbridge, Mass.) followed with a two-run home run to left-center, the first of his collegiate career. Immediately after the home run, Kauffman and junior third baseman Derek Ingui (Sterling, Mass.) worked back-to-back walks to put runners at first and second. They would move up to second and third when senior catcher Kyle Holloway attempted to throw the ball behind Kauffman at second, but threw it into center field instead. Dowd followed and lifted a sacrifice fly to left to give the Ravens the lead.

Lynn continued the back-and-forth with five runs in the bottom of the third inning to jump to a 7-3 lead. Junior shortstop Johnny Broderick had the big blow in the inning with a bases-emptying, three-run double down the right-field line, while Holloway brought home a run with a sacrifice fly and junior right fielder Richie McVey knocked an RBI single.

The two teams would then trade runs in both the fourth and sixth innings. In the top of the fourth, sophomore first baseman Isaac Wenrich (Westlawn, Pa.) singled down the left-field line, moved to second on a single by LaCroix and scored three batters later on an RBI infield single by Ingui. Lynn answered in the bottom half to make it 8-4 after Derstine led off with a single into left-center. He went to second on a walk, moved to third on a bunt single by McVey and scored on an RBI groundout to first by junior designated hitter Patrick Roedel.

In the top of the sixth, Kemp worked a one-out walk and moved to second on a single through the left side of the infield by Kauffman. Ingui followed with another single through the left side to load the bases, then Dowd picked up his second RBI of the day with a ground ball to third which scored Kemp. Dowd would reach safely on an error, but Lynn junior right-hander Sam Jones would work out of the jam from there by getting a force out at the plate and a fly ball to center field. Lynn reclaimed the four-run lead in the bottom half when Chavez worked a leadoff walk, moved to second on a groundout and scored on an RBI single by Roedel.

Franklin Pierce would scratch out another run in the top of the eighth to create the 9-6 final. Kemp started things with a leadoff walk and moved to second when Kauffman was hit by a pitch. Ingui hit a grounder back to the pitcher which pushed Kemp to third and saw Kauffman erased at second, while Dowd followed with his second sacrifice fly of the game, this one to right field, to drive in the run.

Sophomore right-hander T.J. Ferguson (Westmoreland, N.H.) started on the mound and took the loss (0-1) for Franklin Pierce. Over just 2.2 innings, he surrendered seven runs on five hits, walked five, threw a pair of wild pitches and struck out three.

Senior left-hander Evan Ellison started on the hill and did not factor in the decision for Lynn. Over 3.2 innings, he allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits, walked four and struck out three. Jones picked up the win (2-1) out of the bullpen for the Fighting Knights. In 2.1 innings of relief work, he allowed one run on two hits, walked two and struck out three. Senior right-hander Daniel Rouah did not allow a hit over the final two innings, while walking one and striking out two to notch his first save of the season.

The Ravens return to the field on Friday, March 19, when they face Molloy in a neutral-site, non-conference doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Nova Southeastern's NSU Baseball Complex in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.