Junior fans seven along the way

Above videos of ceremony in honor of Adam Keenan courtesy UMass Lowell Athletics Media Relations.

LOWELL, Mass. (March 31, 2012) – Junior right-hander Joe Flynn (Plymouth, Mass.) fired a three-hit shutout and struck out seven on Saturday afternoon, as the Franklin Pierce University baseball team picked up a 2-0 win over Massachusetts Lowell in Northeast-10 Conference play at LeLacheur Park. Junior shortstop Dan Kemp (Sturbridge, Mass.) picked up the only RBI on the day for Franklin Pierce.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 13-9-1 (2-1-1 Northeast-10, 1-0-1 Northeast Division). With the loss, Massachusetts Lowell falls to 13-8-1 (3-2-1 Northeast-10, 1-1 Northeast Division. The two teams will meet in Lowell again tomorrow, for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m., to wrap up the season series.

The two teams honored former Raven and River Hawk Adam Keenan with a pregame ceremony. Keenan was a freshman on Franklin Pierce's 2010 East Region champion club and played for Lowell in 2011 as a sophomore. He tragically passed away in June 2011 while practicing with his summer league team, the Seacoast Mavericks, due to Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy.

Keenan's parents and sister were on-hand for the ceremony, which also featured the baseball team from Lowell High School (where Keenan played) and representatives from the Mavericks. The Mavericks presented the family with a flag that flew at half-mast at their ballpark after Keenan's passing last summer. The Ravens, River Hawks and Lowell High School each presented the family with a jersey, while the Ravens also presented Keenan's championship ring from the 2010 NCAA East Regional.

In addition, the two teams have joined to create the Keenan Cup, which will be presented to the winner of the season series between the two clubs each year. With Saturday's win, the Ravens need only a split on Sunday to claim the inaugural edition of the Keenan Cup.

Flynn took the ball for a Franklin Pierce team in need of a statement outing and provided just that. He needed only 96 pitches to finish off the River Hawks, as he allowed three hits and a walk, hit one batter and struck out seven on his way to the win (4-0). It was Flynn's second complete game of the season and his first career shutout. He faced only two batters over the minimum along the way.

After seven scoreless innings, the Ravens came through with the game's only two runs in the top of the eighth inning. Freshman third baseman R.J. Going (Bay Shore, N.Y.) led off with a walk, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, went to third on a groundout and scored on an RBI single through the left side of the infield by Kemp. Kemp then stole second and later came around to score when sophomore first baseman Zach Mathieu (Derry, N.H.) reached on an error.

Senior right-hander Tyler Toyfair took to the mound for Lowell and took a hard-luck loss (3-1). Over eight innings, he allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits, walked five and struck out four.

After tomorrow's twinbill, the Ravens return to the field for their home opener on Tuesday, April 3 against Southern New Hampshire at 3:30 p.m.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics).