Pearson drives home two runs
Box
Score
Eric Pearson went 2-for-2, drove in two runs and scored once
against Merrimack on Sunday.
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RINDGE, N.H. (May 9,
2010) – Junior designated hitter Eric
Pearson (Webster, N.H.) went 2-for-2, drove in two runs
and scored once on Sunday afternoon as the No. 25/26 nationally
ranked and second-seeded Franklin Pierce University baseball team
staved off elimination again with a 5-2 victory over sixth-seeded
Merrimack on the fourth day of the Northeast-10 Conference Baseball
Championship, hosted by Franklin Pierce at Dr. Arthur and Martha
Pappas Field.
With the win, Franklin Pierce
improves to 36-13-1 and advances to this afternoon's championship
game against fourth-seeded Stonehill. With the loss, Merrimack
falls to 21-19 and is eliminated.
Franklin Pierce opened the scoring
with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning. Junior left
fielder Mike Munoz (Bronx, N.Y.) led off with
single to right field and was erased at second while senior right
fielder Phil Hendricks (Pittsfield, Maine) reached
on a fielder's choice. Hendricks would score all the way from first
on an RBI double into the right-center field gap by freshman center
fielder Nick LaCroix (Grafton, Mass.). LaCroix
later moved to third on a single and then scored on a sacrifice fly
to right by Pearson.
The Ravens pushed the lead to 3-0
with a run in the bottom of the third. Senior second baseman
Cody Kauffman (Blue Bell, Pa.) led off, was hit by
a pitch, stole second, moved to third on a groundout and scored on
a single through the right side of the infield by junior third
baseman Derek Ingui (Sterling, Mass.).
Merrimack answered with a pair of
runs in the top of the fourth to get on the board and cut the lead
to 3-2. With one out, sophomore center fielder Tim Curran worked a
walk, moved to second and score on a double into the gap in
left-center by junior third baseman Mike Dooling. Two batters
later, senior designated Ed Medeiros drove a double into
right-center to drive home Dooling.
Franklin Pierce made it a two-run
game at 4-2 with a run in the bottom of the fourth. With one out,
LaCroix reached on an infield single, moved to second on a
groundout and scored on a single into left-center by Pearson, who
drove in his second run of the game.
The Ravens added an insurance run
in the bottom of the seventh to create the 5-2 final. Pearson
singled to left-center and later scored on an RBI single pushed the
other way into right field by Kauffman.
Graduate student right-hander
Mike Adams (Orchard Park, N.Y.) started and picked
up the win (6-1) on the mound for Franklin Pierce. Over 5.2
innings, he allowed two runs on three hits, walked two, hit two
batters, threw two wild pitches and struck out two. Senior
right-hander Heath Wasylow (Rehoboth, Mass.) threw
3.1 scoreless, hitless innings, walked one and struck out three out
of the bullpen to pick up his first save of the season.
Senior right-hander Ryan McNeil
started and took the loss (3-4) for Merrimack. In seven innings on
the hill, he allowed five runs on 10 hits, walked one, hit a batter
and struck out three.
