Otisfield, Maine, native heads list of seven All-Northeast-10 honorees

RINDGE, N.H. (May 10, 2004) - A program record matching seven members of the Franklin Pierce baseball team have received All-Northeast-10 Conference honors, headed by junior catcher Eric Cavers (Otisfield, Maine/Oxford Hills) who earned the first Northeast-10 Player of the Year award in program history. The awards, voted on by the 12 head coaches in the NE-10, were announced today.

Cavers was joined on the All-Northeast-10 first team by senior designated hitter Dante Blancarte (South Berwick, Maine/Amesbury (Mass.)), junior starting pitcher Keith Brouillard (Westport, Mass./Somerset) and sophomore second baseman Mike Chambers (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry). The four first team selections are a program record.

Sophomore centerfielder Elliott Shea (Jaffrey, N.H./Conant) and freshman starting pitcher Daniel Fournier (Worcester, Mass./Holy Name) were named to the second team, while freshman leftfielder Vinny Pennell (Spencer, Mass./David Prouty) has earned third team honors.      

Cavers, who earns the first Conference Player of the Year award in program history, is now a two-time All-Northeast-10 pick. He leads the NE-10 in batting average (.390), on-base percentage (.473), slugging percentage (.626), runs scored (51) and hits (73), while also ranking high among NE-10 leaders with 15 doubles (4^th), four triples (4^th), seven home runs (2^nd), 35 RBI (9^th) and 20 stolen bases (5^th). Cavers also leads the Ravens with 23 multi-hit and ten multi-RBI games this season and posted a team season-high 15-game hitting streak earlier this season. In Conference play this season, Cavers hit .402 (47-117) with 37 runs scored, 14 doubles, three triples, six homers, 24 RBI and 12 stolen bases.

Cavers, a two-time NE-10 Player of the Week, is also the top defensive catcher in the Conference, having thrown out 34.2-percent (13-38) of the potential base stealers against him this season to go with a Conference-best seven pickoffs.

Cavers ranks second on the program's single-season list with 20 stolen bases, third with 73 hits, fourth with 51 runs, 15 doubles and four triples, seventh with his .390 batting average, .626 slugging percentage and ninth with seven home runs. He holds the program's career stolen base record with 55, while also ranking among career leaders with 42 doubles (2^nd), 131 runs scored (3^rd), seven triples (3^rd), 186 hits (4^th), 146 games played (6^th), 15 home runs (6^th) and 94 RBI (9^th).   

Blancarte has become the first four-time All-Conference honoree in program history with his second-straight first team selection this season. Blancarte is hitting .304 (51-168) this spring with 26 runs scored, 14 doubles (6^th NE-10), two home runs and 29 RBI. One of the more respected hitters in the Conference, Blancarte leads the Northeast-10 with 37 walks, including a team-best five intentional passes, and has registered a .430 on-base percentage (5^th) and .423 slugging percentage this year.

Blancarte holds the career RBI record at the College with 168 and also ranks among career leaders with 190 games played (1^st), 43 doubles (1^st), 229 hits (2^nd), 27 home runs (2^nd), 74 walks (3^rd) and 113 runs scored (6^th). In addition to his four All-Conference selections, Blancarte earned first team All-Northeast Region accolades as a junior.     

Brouillard earns the first postseason award of his career after leading the Franklin Pierce pitching staff this spring. He has posted an 8-1 record (3^rd NE-10 in wins) with one save, a 2.37 ERA, 62 strikeouts and just 16 walks in 83.2 innings (5^th) of work over 13 appearances, nine starts this spring, with five complete-games and two shutouts. Opposing batters are hitting just .209 against him this season (6^th NE-10).

Brouillard became the first pitcher in program history to open a season 8-0, which matched the program record for consecutive winning decisions, this spring. He also established records for consecutive shutout innings with 17.2 as well as consecutive innings without yielding an earned run with a streak of 36.1 innings during the season. Brouillard ranks among single-season leaders at the College with his 2.37 ERA (3^rd), eight wins (4^th), 83.2 innings (6^th), 13 appearances (6^th) and five complete games (8^th).      

Chambers is also a first-time All-Conference selection for the Ravens. He is hitting .342 (64-187), which ranks sixth in the NE-10, with 29 runs scored, 15 doubles (4^th), four home runs (8^th), 35 RBI (9^th) and ten stolen bases to go with a .487 slugging (8^th) and .406 on-base percentage. He has also totaled 19 multi-hit and ten multi-RBI games this season and posted a ten-game hitting streak during one stretch, which ranks third longest on the team this season.

Chambers has cracked the single-season lists at the College in doubles (4^th) and hits (6^th) this spring.    

Shea earns his first All-Conference selection with a spot on the second team. He has set a program record this spring with 22 stolen bases (on 25 attempts), which ranks second among NE-10 leaders. He is hitting .291 (55-189) this season with 42 runs scored (7^th NE-10), ten doubles, three home runs and 19 RBI. Shea posted an 11-game hitting streak during one stretch of the season, which ranks as the second longest on the team this spring.  

Fournier is also a first time All-NE-10 pick. He has made ten starts on the mound for the Ravens and has posted a 6-3 record (6^th NE-10 in wins) with a 3.03 ERA and 68 strikeouts (9^th NE-10) in 62.1 innings of work with four complete games and one shutout. Opposing batters are hitting just .230 against him. Fournier has established a new freshman record for strikeouts in a season after his season-high matching 11-strikeout performance against Southern Connecticut State University on Saturday night.

Pennell joins Fournier as All-Conference freshmen after being named to the third team. He is hitting .293 (46-157) with 29 runs scored, ten doubles, 25 RBI and a freshman record 16 stolen bases (on 17 attempts) this spring.

Franklin Pierce (29-22, 23-8 NE-10) narrowly missed out on its second-straight NCAA Division II Tournament bid as it was ranked fifth in the final NCAA Northeast Regional rankings. The Ravens will host the 2004 ECAC Division II Championships later this week. Teams and start times will be announced on Tuesday.