Four Ravens pile up three hits in nightcap

Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

NEW HAVEN, CONN. (April 3, 2010) – Junior third baseman Derek Ingui (Sterling, Mass.) went 3-for-5 with a two-run single which keyed a four-run fourth inning on Saturday afternoon to lead the No. 19 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team to an 11-5 victory over Southern Connecticut State in the second game of a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader at The Ballpark at SCSU. Earlier in the day, Franklin Pierce lost the first game, 7-3.

With the split, Franklin Pierce is now 17-9 (5-3 Northeast-10), while Southern Connecticut State is 17-6-1 (10-2 Northeast-10).

In the first game, Franklin Pierce opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first inning. Senior second baseman Cody Kauffman (Blue Bell, Pa.) led off, was hit by a pitch and came all the way around to score on an RBI single over the head of the center fielder by sophomore catcher Mike Dowd (East Bridgewater, Mass.).

The Ravens would briefly push the lead to 2-0 with a run in the top of the fourth. With one out, sophomore first baseman Isaac Wenrich (Westlawn, Pa.) pulled a single through right side. He would score two batters later, when senior right fielder Phil Hendricks (Pittsfield, Maine) clubbed a double into the gap in right-center.

Southern Connecticut State answered with three runs in the home half of the fourth to take a 3-2 lead. Sophomore first baseman Bryan Dorsey led off with a single down the left-field line and moved to second when sophomore shortstop Ryan Geffert was hit by a pitch. Sophomore third baseman A.J. Rouleau followed with a double down the left-field line to drive home both runs. Rouleau would later move to third on a wild pitch and score on an RBI, broken-bat, infield single by sophomore right fielder Jordan Hockenberry.

The game then went without another run until the top of the eighth inning, when Franklin Pierce scratched together a run to tie the game at 3-3. Ingui led off with a single through the right side and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. He would score from there when Wenrich pushed an RBI single through the left side.

The tie would be short-lived however, as SCSU plated four runs in the bottom half of the eighth to take a 7-3 lead. Junior left fielder Kyle Rosadino led off with a single down the right-field line and moved to second on a sacrifice. After Geffert was intentionally walked, Rouleau then drove home the go-ahead run with a single through the right side that chased the Franklin Pierce starter, graduate student right-hander Mike Adams (Orchard Park, N.Y.) from the game. Sophomore right-hander T.J. Ferguson (Westmoreland, N.H.) entered, walked junior catcher Nick DeProspo, recorded a strikeout and then hit Hockenberry with a pitch to drive home the second run of the inning. That brought freshman right-hander Rob Blanc (Sandy Hook, Conn.) into the game and he was greeted by a two-run single down the right-field line by freshman center fielder Mike Cleary.

Franklin Pierce would load the bases in the ninth, but could not bring home any runs, as the 7-3 score held as the final.

Adams started on the mound and took the loss (5-1) for Franklin Pierce. Over 7.1 innings, he allowed six runs on seven hits, walked three, hit a batter, threw a wild pitch and struck out three.

Sophomore right-hander Ryan Yerina took the hill and picked up the win (2-2) for Southern Connecticut State. In 8.1 innings of work, he allowed three runs on 11 hits, did not issue a walk, hit a batter and struck out three. Junior right-hander Mike Johnston tossed the final two-thirds of an inning to pick up his second save of the season.

Franklin Pierce got the bats going early and often in the second team, as it chalked up 11 runs on 17 hits on its way to the six-run victory. The Ravens opened the scoring with a run in the top of the second inning. Wenrich led off, dropped a double inside the left-field line and moved to third on a bunt single by Hendricks. Wenrich would come in to score when sophomore designated hitter Tim Quinn (Paxton, Mass.) followed and bounced into an RBI fielder's choice.

The Ravens then broke things open with four runs in the top of the fourth to push the lead to 5-0. With one out, freshman center fielder Nick LaCroix (Grafton, Mass.) singled back up the middle and moved to second when Hendricks reached on an error. Quinn picked up his second RBI of the game with a single through the left side that scored LaCroix and sent Hendricks to second. Freshman shortstop Dan Kemp (Sturbridge, Mass.) then singled to right to load the bases and Dowd followed with an RBI infield single to make it a 3-0 game. Ingui then provided the inning's exclamation point with a two-run single into center field.

Franklin Pierce extended the lead to 6-0 with another run in the top of the sixth inning. With one out, Kemp reached on a bunt single and moved to second on a throwing error. Kauffman followed and drove home Kemp with a single the other way, through the right side of the infield.

The Ravens ran the lead as high as 8-0 with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh on RBI singles by LaCroix and Hendricks.

SCSU made things interesting with five runs of their own in the home half of the seventh to cut the lead to 8-5. Sophomore designated hitter Eric Schlitter had the big blow of the inning with a three-run double into the gap in right-center field. Rosadino and Dorsey each added an RBI single in the inning as well.

After both teams went scoreless in the eighth, Franklin Pierce put the game out of reach with three runs in the top of the ninth inning. Hendricks got the two-out rally started with a double down the right-field line. After Quinn was hit by a pitch, Kemp knocked a single back through the middle to score Hendricks and make it a four-run game. Kauffman followed and fired the final salvo of the afternoon, as he turned on a pitch and pumped a two-run double into the left-center field gap.

Junior left-hander Brian Maloney (Brockton, Mass.) started on the mound for Franklin Pierce in the second game, tossed 3.1 innings and did not factor in the decision. He did not allow a run, gave up one hit, walked two, threw a wild pitch and struck out three. Blanc picked up the win (3-0) out of the bullpen for the Ravens. Over three innings of relief work, he allowed three runs on one hit, walked one, hit a batter and struck out six.

Junior right-hander Kevin Pettine started on the rubber and took the loss for Southern Connecticut State. Over 3.2 innings, he surrendered five runs (two earned) on nine hits, did not issue a walk, hit a batter and struck out two.

The Ravens return to the field on Monday, April 5, when they return home to host New Haven in a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field in Rindge, N.H.