Three members of Franklin Pierce's pitching staff turned in strong outings against the USA Baseball National Team with summer league clubs 

RINDGE, N.H. (June 23, 2008) - Three members of the Franklin Pierce University baseball team turned in strong pitching performances against the USA Baseball National Team during its recent tour of the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL).

Juniors Mike Adams (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) and Tom Cote (Swanzey, N.H./Monadnock Regional) and sophomore Kyle Vazquez (Berlin, Conn./Berlin) got the opportunity to test themselves against Team USA while playing with their summer baseball teams. Adams is playing with NECBL newcomers the North Shore Navigators, from Lynn, Mass., Cote is with the local Keene Swamp Bats, while Vazquez is playing for the Pittsfield (Mass.) Dukes.

Vazquez, a third team All-Northeast-10 Conference selection for Franklin Pierce this spring, collected a save in the Pittsfield Dukes 5-2 victory over Team USA on June 17. Vazquez tossed a perfect ninth inning, using just nine pitches against USA's Nos. 2, 3 and 4 hitters. He retired Cal State Fullerton-product Josh Fellhauer and Kentrail Davis, of the University of Tennessee, on ground balls to shortstop and second base, respectively, before striking out Blake Smith, from the University of California, on three pitches. Smith had been 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI before that final at bat.

"It was a great opportunity to be able to face the US National Team and the top collegiate hitters across the country," said Vazquez. "I was really excited when I was told I would get to pitch against them. I hope I get the chance to do it again some other time."

Vazquez has made three League appearances (two starts) for Pittsfield through the first two weeks of the NECBL season and is 1-0 with a 1.38 earned run average, seven strikeouts and three walks in 13.0 innings, holding opposing batters to a .233 average. He made 16 appearances (12 starts) for Franklin Pierce this spring, posting a 7-2 record and 3.31 ERA with 80 strikeouts and 29 walks in 84.1 innings pitched, limiting opposing batters to a .267 average. 

Adams, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division II Pitcher of the Year, pitched the sixth and seventh innings for the North Shore Navigators in their 6-3 victory over Team USA on June 14. He allowed just a one-out walk in two scoreless innings of work, striking out four of the eight batters he faced. Adams fanned two in a one-two-three sixth inning against Team USA's five, six and seven hitters in the lineup. Adams struck out University of Missouri outfielder Aaron Senne to open the seventh, but worked around a walk and fielding error before striking out Josh Phegley, from the University of Indiana, and forcing Kentrail Davis to ground into a force out.

"I was looking at the roster a couple of days before we played (Team USA) and all I saw were players from big schools with big names," said Adams. "It was a great feeling for me, from Franklin Pierce, to be able to show what I could do against some of the best players in the country. It was a big moment in my life and I am sure I will be talking about it for years to come."

Adams has had an up and down start to the first two weeks of the NECBL season. In two League starts, he is winless in two decisions for the Navigators, allowing eight earned runs in 12.0 innings pitched, with nine strikeouts and five walks. In his first start of the season, he was nearly flawless in seven strong innings against the NECBL-leading Keene Swamp Bats, allowing just an earned run (in his final inning of work) on four hits (all singles) with five strikeouts.

Adams was a consensus All-America selection for Franklin Pierce this spring, also earning Daktronics and NCBWA Northeast Region and Northeast-10 Conference Pitcher of the Year honors to go with his national Pitcher of the Year award. He made 17 appearances (15 starts) for the Ravens and was 11-1 with two saves, a 1.36 ERA, 113 strikeouts and just 36 walks in 112.2 innings pitched. Adams set single-season program records for wins, ERA, strikeouts and innings pitched.

Cote turned in an inning and two-thirds of strong relief in the Keene Swamp Bats loss to Team USA on June 12. He entered the game in the sixth inning with one out and two Team USA runners on base after they had already struck for back-to-back home runs. Cote got out of the jam by striking out No. 6 batter Aaron Senne before forcing Ryan Ortiz of Oregon State University to ground out to end the inning. Cote allowed two hits and a walk with two strikeouts in the appearance. He struck out the lead off batter in the seventh, Shaver Hanson from Baylor University, before Team USA loaded the bases with a double, single and walk. Cote didn't back down and retired USA's No. 3 and 4 hitters to escape the jam.

"It's definitely an honor to play (Team USA)," said Cote. "They are playing for our country and it was fun to see what talent is out there and who is representing the United States. I went in thinking these guys are no better than me, I put on my socks the same way they do every day. I didn't care who was hitting, I just wanted to throw my pitches where I needed to."

Cote has made three relief appearances in League play for the Swamp Bats in the early point of the season. He is 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA, 11 strikeouts and just one walk in 6.2 innings of work, holding opposing batters to a .130 average. Cote made 12 appearances (nine starts) for Franklin Pierce this spring, posting a 4-2 record with a save, 3.11 ERA, 60 strikeouts and 25 walks in 46.1 innings pitched, holding opposing batters to a .225 average.

Franklin Pierce (43-15, 20-10 NE-10), ranked eighth in the final pingbaseball.com Division II poll, 18th in the final Collegiate Baseball magazine rankings and 20th in the NCBWA national poll, captured its third straight NCAA Division II Northeast Regional title, advancing to the Division II Baseball Championships for the fourth time in program history. The Ravens reached the 40-win plateau for the third straight year and had 30-plus wins for the seventh straight season. The Ravens also win the NE-10 Tournament championship for the second straight year and the third time in four seasons.