Senior breaks 3-3 tie with two-run single

Box Score

PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. (April 17, 2010) – Senior second baseman Cody Kauffman (Blue Bell, Pa.) hit a two-run single in the top of the ninth inning on Saturday afternoon to break a 3-3 tie and lift the No. 29 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team to a 5-3 victory over Pace in Northeast-10 Conference play at Finnerty Field. Junior right-hander Rob Nicholas (Southborough, Mass.) threw the final 3.2 innings without allowing a run out of the bullpen to preserve the tie and give Franklin Pierce the chance to pull out the victory.

With the victory, Franklin Pierce improves to 26-10 (12-4 Northeast-10), while Pace falls to 11-23 (5-14 Northeast-10) with the loss.

Graduate student first baseman Mike Augustine (Kingston, N.Y.) kicked things off in the top of the ninth with a leadoff walk, before freshman shortstop Dan Kemp (Sturbridge, Mass.) followed two batters later with a double to center field. That brought Kauffman to the plate, and the senior dropped a single inside the left-field line to plate both runs and give Franklin Pierce a lead it would not relinquish. Nicholas would set down Pace in order in the home half of the ninth to wrap up the game.

Earlier in the afternoon, Franklin Pierce opened the scoring with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. With one out, sophomore catcher Mike Dowd (East Bridgewater, Mass.) worked a walk and moved to second when junior third baseman Derek Ingui (Sterling, Mass.) followed and pulled a single through the left side of the infield. Junior left fielder Mike Munoz (Bronx, N.Y.) was next and clubbed an RBI double the other way into the gap in right-center to bring home Dowd and push Ingui around to third. Ingui would score from there as senior right fielder Phil Hendricks (Pittsfield, Maine) punched a single back through the middle.

Pace cut the lead in half to 2-1 with a run of its own in the home half of the first. Senior center fielder Chris Spatkowski led off with a walk and was then erased at second base while sophomore third baseman Kyle Turnier reached on a fielder's choice Turnier would move to second on a groundout and come home to score on a double to center field by senior first baseman Vinny Dammann.

The Setters would pick up two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to briefly take their only lead of the game at 3-2. Senior left fielder Mike Torello led off with a walk and moved to second on a single into center field by Dammann. Two batters later, junior second baseman Laurence Flammia worked a walk to load the bases and junior right fielder Kenny Wright followed with an RBI single to left to bring home Torello and tie the game. Two batters later, freshman shortstop Robert Horn worked a bases loaded walk to drive home Dammann with the go-ahead run.

Franklin Pierce quickly answered with a run in the top of the fifth inning to tie the game at 3-3. Dowd got things started with a two-out single back through the middle and moved to second on a single to right by Ingui. Munoz followed with an infield single that would have loaded the bases, but an error by Horn at shortstop allowed Dowd to come around to score from second on the play.

From there, the game would go without another run until the top of the ninth inning, which set the stage for Kauffman's heroics to propel Franklin Pierce to its eighth straight victory.

Graduate student right-hander Mike Adams (Orchard Park, N.Y.) started on the mound and did not factor in the decision. He lasted just four innings, allowed three runs on three hits, walked four and struck out two. Two Franklin Pierce relievers then combined to allow just one hit while throwing five shutout innings the rest of the way. Junior right-hander Nick Noblit (Westfield, Mass.) allowed one hit and struck out two over 1.1 innings, while Nicholas fired 3.2 hitless innings with two walks and three strikeouts to pick up the win (4-0).

Junior right-hander Michael Sciarretta started on the hill and took the loss (4-4) for Pace. Over 8.1 innings, he surrendered five runs (four earned) on 12 hits, walked two, hit two batters and struck out seven.

The Ravens return to the field on Sunday, April 18, when they remain at Pace for another Northeast-10 Conference contest. First pitch is scheduled for noon at Finnerty Field.