2006 NCAA II NORTHEAST REGIONAL Top-Seeded Franklin Pierce Out-Slugs #5 Dominican, 15-13
Ravens advance to regional championship for third time in four years
RINDGE, N.H. (May 21, 2006) - Top-seeded Franklin Pierce built a 14-2 lead in the top of the sixth, but was forced to withstand a furious comeback effort by fifth-seeded Dominican College for a 15-13 victory in game nine of the 2006 NCAA Division II Northeast Regional at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field this morning.
Franklin Pierce (43-11) advances to the championship round of the regional for the third time in four years. The Ravens await the winner of today's second game between Dominican (42-17) and fourth-seeded Southern Connecticut State University (35-18) for a title game Monday at 11 a.m.
Franklin Pierce seeks its second trip to the NCAA Division II Championships in Montgomery, Ala., after earning a trip to the World Series in 2003. The Ravens lost to Southern Connecticut here at Dr. Pappas Field in the 2005 regional final.
Senior second baseman Mike Chambers (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) led the 17-hit offensive barrage for Franklin Pierce, going 4-for-6 with a pair of home runs, a double and four RBI. Classmate Randy Fenton (Worcester, Mass./Doherty) was 2-4 with the first grand slam of his career and two runs scored, while junior Vinny Pennell (Spencer, Mass./David Prouty) was 3-6 with with two runs scored.
Senior Elliot Shea (Jaffrey, N.H./Conant) hit 2-5 with a double, homer, two runs scored and three RBI. His leadoff home run in the sixth was the 247th hit of his career, surpassing the program record of 246 set by assistant coach Scott Loiseau (1999-2002). The Ravens, which entered the game with a regional-best 11 home runs, belted six more this morning and six different players notched multiple-hits in their 17-hit attack.
Junior right-hander Arric Mather (Danville, N.H./Winnacunett) picked up the win (9-1), though we has hit for six earned runs on nine hits and a walk with one strikeout in 5.2 innings of work. Mather held the Chargers scoreless on three hits through the first four innings before yielding a pair of runs in the fifth.
Sophomore Sean Brown (Massapequa, N.Y./St. Anthony's) paced Dominican, going 3-for-5 with a home run, two doubles, three runs scored and five RBI. Senior Chad Duesler (Northville, N.Y./Northville Central) was 2-3 with three RBI. Senior Mike Zani (Goshen, N.Y./Goshen) and freshman Jose Made (Binghamton, N.Y./Binghamton) were both 3-6 with a double and RBI.
Sophomore Tommy Mejia (Brooklyn, N.Y./Newton) suffered the loss (8-3), allowing 14 runs, 13 earned, on 13 hits and four walks with two strikeouts in six innings of work. Sophomore Michael Mondesir (Jamaica, N.Y./Holy Cross) and freshman Brendan Bohan (Rutherford, N.J./St. Mary's) combined to allow just an earned run on three hits with a strikeout and walk over the final three innings to give the Chargers a chance to come back.
The game was scoreless through the first innings, before Franklin Pierce plated seven runs in the fourth. Shea sparked the inning with a two-run double to left, while Chambers delivered his first home run of the day with a three-run blast to left. The Ravens took advantage of three Dominican errors in the inning for two more runs.
Dominican got two runs back in the fifth as Brown posted an RBI double and later scored on a single to center by Zani. However, the Ravens scored seven more in the sixth to open a 14-2 advantage. Shea, Chambers and junior All-American Garrett Olson (Norway, Maine/Oxford Hills) hit back-to-back-to-back homers to leadoff the inning. Fenton capped the rally with his first career grand slam with two outs.
Dominican drew within eight runs with four in the home half of the sixth. Duesler posted a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded, then Brown belted a three-run homer to left center with two-out that chased Mather. Duesler delivered a two-run single to center as the Chargers scored twice in the eighth.
After a solo homer from senior All-American Bryan Duplissie (East Swanzey, N.H./Monadnock Regional) in the top of the ninth, Dominican rallied in the home half. Brown's RBI double down the line drew the Chargers within 15-11 with one out. Junior Keith Gebert (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xavarian) followed with an RBI infield single, before Made smacked an RBI double to pull within two runs with two out. Senior reliever Mike Farrell (Russell, Mass./Gateway Regional) escaped the jam, by forcing a ground out to shortstop with runners on second and third to end the game.