32nd Annual NEIBA All-Star Game Has Franklin Pierce Flavor
Seven Ravens and coaches help College Division post 2-0 victory; Bishop notches save King named Division II Coach of the Year for third time Franklin Pierce tabbed as DII Team of the Year for third time
RINDGE, N.H. (July 23, 2007) - The 32nd Annual New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) All-Star Game, held at historic Fenway Park, had a distinct Franklin Pierce University flavor as the College Division (Divisions II & III) defeated the University Division (Division I) 2-0 last night.
Representing Franklin Pierce were senior Jake Christman (Newton, Mass./Newton South), juniors Matt Anderson (Medford, Mass./Medford), Kevin Renaud (Southbridge, Mass./Southbridge) and Tyler Bishop (Milford, N.H./Milford), sophomores Mike Adams (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) and Tom Cote (Swanzey, N.H./Monadnock Regional) and freshman Kevin Rivers (Bristol, Conn./Bristol Eastern), along with head coach Jayson King and assistant Stan Jurkoic.
Senior Vinny Pennell (Spencer, Mass./David Prouty) and junior Keith Renaud (Southbridge, Mass./Southbridge) were selected to the team but unable to participate after signing professional contracts in June. Pennell signed a free agent deal with the Kansas City Royals and is currently playing in the Arizona League, while Renaud was a tenth round selection of the Seattle Mariners in the MLB First Year Player Draft and currently with the Mariners Midwest League affiliate in Wisconsin.
Christman started at second base and led off for the College Division, finishing 0-for-2 with a pair of ground outs. Anderson was the starting designated hitter and was 0-2 with a fly out and ground out, while Kevin Renaud started in left field and was 0-2 with a fly and ground out. Renaud did make a good play in the shadow of the Green Monster, tracking down a curving foul ball in the corner, before crashing into the wall.
Adams pitched a perfect fourth inning, not allowing a ball out of the infield, while Bishop picked up the save with a 1-2-3 ninth, striking out one. Rivers entered the game in right field in the fifth and flew out to left in his lone at bat. Cote was unavailable to pitch after pitching six innings (ten strikeouts) in a summer league game on Friday night.
The win for the College Division was just the tenth in the all-time series and snapped a two-game losing streak to the University All-Stars. In addition to the game, Franklin Pierce took home some hardware as the Ravens earned NEIBA Division II Team of the Year for the third time (2003, 2006, 2007), while King earned the organization's DII Coach of the Year honor for the third time as well.
Franklin Pierce (49-11, 26-4 NE-10), which posted a Northeast Region record for wins, recently completed its second-straight run (and third in five years) to the NCAA Division II Baseball Championships in Montgomery, Ala., after capturing both the Northeast-10 regular season and tournament crowns for the first time in program history. The Ravens were ranked 10th in the final Collegiate Baseball magazine Division II poll.