LaCroix, Pearson, Kauffman drive
home runs in go-ahead rally
Box
Score
Nick LaCroix hit a game-tying double as part of a three-run fifth
inning which gave the Ravens the lead for good against Stonehill on
Thursday night.
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RINDGE, N.H. (April 22,
2010) – Freshman center fielder Nick LaCroix
(Grafton, Mass.), junior designated hitter Eric Pearson (Webster, N.H.) and senior second baseman
Cody Kauffman (Blue Bell, Pa.) each drove home a
run in a three-run fifth inning on Thursday night to propel the No.
30 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team to a
5-1 victory over Stonehill in Northeast-10 Conference play.
Freshman right-hander Joe Flynn (Plymouth, Mass.)
struck out eight over seven innings while picking up the win for
Franklin Pierce.
With the victory, Franklin Pierce
improves to 28-11-1 (14-5-1 Northeast-10), while Stonehill falls to
18-16 (11-9 Northeast-10) with the loss.
Stonehill opened the scoring with a
run in the top of the fourth inning. With two outs, sophomore left
fielder Mike Magnussen started things with a single through the
right side of the infield. He would come all the way around to
score when senior center fielder Rob Von Stein followed and sliced
an RBI triple down the right-field line.
After collecting only one hit
through the first four innings, the Franklin Pierce bats woke up in
the home half of the fifth, as the Ravens collected three runs on
four hits to jump to a 3-1 lead which they would never relinquish.
Senior right fielder Phil Hendricks (Pittsfield,
Maine) led off the inning, turned on a pitch and pulled a
double into the left-center field gap. LaCroix followed and stung a
ball over the head of the center fielder for a double of his own to
drive home Hendricks. After a flyout to deep center moved LaCroix
to third, Pearson drove in the second run of the inning when he
pulled a single through the left side of the infield. Pearson was
awarded second on a balk, stole third and eventually scored on a
double into the gap in left-center by Kauffman.
The Ravens tacked on a pair of
insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to create the 5-1
final. Junior third baseman Derek Ingui (Sterling,
Mass.) led off the inning with a single through the left
side of the infield and moved around to third when junior left
fielder Mike Munoz (Bronx, N.Y.) pulled a
line-drive single to left field. Munoz wound up on second on the
play, as the throw from the left fielder missed both the cutoff man
and the second baseman. Ingui would score later in the inning on a
wild pitch which also moved Munoz to third. Graduate student first
baseman Mike Augustine (Kingston, N.Y.) was next
and lifted a high popup to shallow right field. Stonehill senior
second baseman Mitch Davis made the catch while backpedaling, which
allowed Munoz to tag up and score from third.
Flynn started on the mound and
picked up the win (5-2) for Franklin Pierce. Over seven innings, he
allowed one run on nine hits, did not issue a walk, threw a wild
pitch and struck out eight.
Sophomore left-hander Michael White
took the ball and also took the loss (3-2) for Stonehill. In seven
innings on the rubber, he allowed three runs on six hits, walked
one, balked once and struck out seven.
The Ravens return to the field on
Saturday, April 24, when they remain home to host Assumption in a
Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for
noon at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field.
