Ravens eliminate UMass Lowell with 16-11 offensive battle, advance to face second-seeded Southern Connecticut tomorrow for regional title

RINDGE, N.H. (May 20, 2005) - Top-seeded Franklin Pierce, ranked No. 27 in this week's Collegiate Baseball magazine poll, won its second elimination game of the day with a 16-11 triumph over fourth-seeded UMass Lowell in game five of the 2005 NCAA Division II 

Northeast Regional at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field this afternoon.
Franklin Pierce (32-13) will face second-seeded and No. 29-ranked Southern Connecticut State University (30-12) in the regional championship round tomorrow beginning at noon. 

The Ravens, who have matched the program record for victories with their third-straight 32-win campaign, will need to defeat Southern twice tomorrow to claim its second Northeast Regional title in three years and advance to the Division II College World Series in Montgomery, Ala., next weekend. The Owls reached their first regional final with a 10-3 victory over UMass Lowell (28-20) in today's second game. Franklin Pierce eliminated third-seeded Adelphi University (25-19) in today's first game.

In today's nightcap, Franklin Pierce and UMass Lowell combined for 27 runs and 34 hits. Junior centerfielder Elliott Shea (Jaffrey, N.H./Conant) was 4-for-6 for the Ravens with three doubles, three RBI and three runs scored. Sophomore Garrett Olson (Norway, Maine/Oxford Hills) was 3-4 with a homer, three RBI and four runs scored, while classmate Vinny Pennell (Spencer, Mass./David Prouty) hit 3-6 with a double, triple, stolen base and three RBI. Junior Mike Chambers (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) chipped in by batting 2-4 with a pair of homers, three RBI and three runs scored.

Sophomore right-hander Matt Fisher (Athol, Mass./Athol) collected his third win of the season (3-1) as he kept the River Hawks at bay long enough to allow the Ravens bats to take over. He allowed three earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts and a walk in a career-high 5.1 innings of work. Fisher entered the game with one out in the third and Franklin Pierce trailing 7-3 and tossed four and two thirds scoreless frames before yielding three runs in the eighth after the Ravens were able to build a 15-7 advantage.

Junior Jim Shaughnessy (Lowell, Mass./Central Catholic) suffered the loss (6-5) as he was hit for eight runs, just four earned, on six hits with two strikeouts and two walks over four-plus innings. The River Hawks bullpen was unable to keep the Franklin Pierce bats quiet, yielding eight earned runs on 11 hits with two strikeouts and two walks over the last five frames.

Freshman Tim Manton (Swansea, N.H./Joseph Case) batted 5-for-6 with a double, triple, stolen base, two RBI and three runs scored for UML. Senior Nate Liebenow (Hampton, N.H./Winnacunnet) was 2-5 with a pair of doubles and two RBI. Sophomore Ryan Davenport (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) hit 2-4 a homer, two RBI and three runs scored, while sophomore Sean Patno (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford) finished 2-5 with two RBI.

Franklin Pierce opened the game by scoring three in the first, marking the 25th time the Ravens have scored in the first inning this season (20-5 record) - including all six postseason contests (5-1 mark). Junior Bryan Duplissie (East Swanzey, N.H./Monadnock Regional) delivered a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded and one out, before Pennell cleared the bases with a two-run triple.

UMass Lowell answered with two in the home half, and then took the lead with three in the second. Patno started things with an RBI single, followed by Manton's RBI triple and a run-scoring double from Liebenow. Davenport's two-run homer in the third put the River Hawks up 7-3 before Franklin Pierce mounted its comeback.

The Ravens scored in each of the last six innings of the game, which did not feature a scoreless frame on the day. Shea drilled a two-run double, followed by Chambers first homer of the game to left with two out. Franklin Pierce added a single run in the fifth and scored a pair in the sixth on Chambers second homer to deep center - his third in two games today.

Franklin Pierce appeared to put the game out of reach with four in the seventh, sparked by a three-run homer from Olson that tied him for the Northeast-10 Conference lead (11) with Duplissie, and led 15-7 after a Pennell RBI double in the eighth. However, UMass Lowell refused to go down quietly, plating three in the eighth and loading the bases and one out in the ninth. Franklin Pierce sophomore Eric Grabowski (Worcester, Mass./David Prouty) struck out a batter and then Patno drove one in when he beat out a chop single to third, before Olson was able to throw out Manton on another chopper to end the game.

Game Boxscore and Play-by-Play