Ingui hits three doubles, scores three runs in championship game

Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

WEST HAVEN, Conn. (May 16, 2010) – Junior third baseman Derek Ingui (Sterling, Mass.) went 3-for-3 with three doubles and scored three runs on Sunday afternoon as the No. 22/24 nationally ranked and second-seeded Franklin Pierce University baseball team claimed the fifth NCAA Regional title in program history with a 6-3 win over No. 14/26, top seed and host Southern Connecticut State in the final game of the NCAA Championship East Regional at historic Yale Field. Earlier in the day, Franklin Pierce posted a 2-1 victory over SCSU to force the decisive final game.

With the wins, Franklin Pierce improves to 41-15-1 and will advance to the NCAA Championship Finals, also known as the Division II College World Series, at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. on May 22-29. The Ravens will open play in the eight-team double-elimination tournament at 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 23 against Kutztown, champion of the Atlantic Region. With the loss, Southern Connecticut State concludes its season at 38-13-1.

Senior right fielder Phil Hendricks (Pittsfield, Maine) was named the East Regional's Most Valuable Player and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by five other Ravens: sophomore first baseman Isaac Wenrich (Westlawn, Pa.), senior second baseman Cody Kauffman (Blue Bell, Pa.), Ingui, junior left fielder Mike Munoz (Bronx, N.Y.) and senior right-hander Heath Wasylow (Rehoboth, Mass.).

In the final game of the tournament, Southern Connecticut State opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Sophomore left-hander Bryan Dorsey started things with a leadoff single up the middle and moved to second on a groundout. He later scored on an RBI double over the head of the center fielder by sophomore designated hitter Eric Schlitter.

However, Franklin Pierce would answer with three runs in the top of the fifth and two in the sixth to jump to a 5-1 lead. In the fifth, Kauffman drove in a run with a single through the middle and Wenrich lifted a sacrifice fly to left before Hendricks pulled a double down the left-field line to make it a three-run inning.

In the sixth, Ingui pushed a one-out double into the gap in right-center before freshman shortstop Dan Kemp (Sturbridge, Mass.) worked a walk and Kauffman beat out an infield single to load the bases. Sophomore catcher Mike Dowd (East Bridgewater, Mass.) provided the inning's big blow with a two-run single to center to give the Ravens a 5-1 lead.

Franklin Pierce added a run on an eighth-inning single to left-center by Kauffman to push the lead as high as 6-1 before Southern Connecticut State closed the gap to 6-3 with two runs in the bottom half of the eighth. Both runs would score on the same play, as freshman center fielder Michael Clearly knocked an RBI single into right-center and a second run scored on an error. However, junior right-hander Jose Macias (Bronx, N.Y.) would get a pair of groundouts to end the further threat in the eighth and worked around a one-out double in the ninth to give the Ravens their fifth regional championship.

Junior right-hander Rob Nicholas (Southborough, Mass.) started on the mound and picked up the win (5-1) for Franklin Pierce. Over 6.1 innings, he allowed just one run on eight hits, walked two and struck out five.

Senior left-hander Ed Bethke took the ball and took the loss (5-2) in the final game for Southern Connecticut State. In 4.1 innings of work, he allowed three runs on seven hits, did not issue a walk and struck out two.

In the first game of the day, Franklin Pierce utilized a seven-inning performance by graduate student right-hander Sean Keeler (Cazenovia, N.Y.) to force the final game of the tournament. Keeler allowed one run on six hits, walked one and struck out five to post the win (3-1), while sophomore right-hander T.J. Ferguson (Westmoreland, N.H.) preserved the 2-1 victory with his second save of the season.

The offense in the game for the Ravens came courtesy of a sixth-inning single by junior designated hitter Eric Pearson (Webster, N.H.) and a seventh-inning sacrifice fly by Munoz. Ferguson and freshman right-hander Rob Blanc (Sandy Hook, Conn.) teamed in the eighth inning to escape a bases-loaded, no-out jam while allowing only one run.

The wins give Franklin Pierce 40-plus wins for the fourth time in program history. The Ravens last topped 40 wins with 43 in 2008, which was the last of a string of three seasons with 40 or more victories.