Carr’s four RBI lead Ravens to 12-5 game-one win, Anderson’s single completes 4-3 comeback in the nightcap

BOCA RATON and PALM BEACH, Fla. (March 14, 2008) – The Franklin Pierce University baseball team, ranked sixth in the latest pingbaseball.com Div. II poll, seventh in the newest Collegiate Baseball Writers of America (NCBWA) Div. II poll and 11th in this week’s Collegiate Baseball magazine rankings, swept a pair of games against Adelphi University today in Florida. The Ravens earned a 12-5 victory on Friday morning at FAU Stadium on the campus of Florida Atlantic University, then traveled north to the Santaluces Sports Complex and took a 4-3 decision on Friday evening.


Franklin Pierce 12, Adelphi 5 (Game One)

To open the day, Franklin Pierce scored 10 of its 12 runs in two innings, putting five on the board in both the fifth and seventh frames to earn a 12-5 win in Boca Raton, Fla.

Junior captain Steve Carr (Nahant, Mass./Lake City CC) went 2-for-4 on the game, leading all players with four runs batted in while scoring a run, walking once and stealing a base. Graduate student Jake Christman (Newton, Mass./Newton South) had a 2-for-3 day, walking three times, driving in two and adding a run and a stolen base, while senior captain Matt Anderson (Medford, Mass./Medford) had two hits, including a solo home run.

The first seven Ravens reached base in the fifth frame, as the first three batters singled and Christman worked a bases-loaded walk to begin the scoring. After a fielder’s choice, junior preseason All-American Scott Savastano (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) stroked a two-run double and sophomore Kevin Rivers (Bristol, Conn./Bristol Eastern) followed with an RBI single. Carr drove in the inning’s fifth run with a sacrifice fly.

Adelphi responded in the bottom of the inning with four unearned runs off of junior All-Region right-hander Mike Adams (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park), but the Ravens came right back with one run in the sixth and five in the seventh to clinch the win. Panther pitchers issued five walks in the seventh inning, including three consecutive free passes to ignite the rally, and Carr followed with a two-run single that broke open the game.

Adams threw seven strong innings for Franklin Pierce, allowing four hits and four unearned runs while striking out eight, to improve his record to 2-0 on the year. Freshman Robert Nixon (Welland, Ontario/Notre Dame College School) took the loss for Adelphi, giving up six runs (all earned) on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings.


Franklin Pierce 4, Adelphi 3 (Game Two)

After a rain delay of more than two hours, the two teams faced off for a second time on Friday in Palm Beach, Fla. The Ravens scored single runs in the fifth and seventh innings to overcome an early one-run deficit and earn the two-game sweep with a 4-3 victory.

Savastano drove in two of the Ravens’ four runs with a two-run home run in the first inning, his only hit in four trips to the plate. Anderson and sophomore Matt Skeffington (Auburn, N.H./Coastal Carolina) also drove in runs with their lone hits of the evening, with Skeffington knotting the game in the fifth and Anderson providing the game-winning run in the seventh.

An RBI double by Skeffington in the fifth inning scored senior captain Tyler Bishop (Milford, N.H./Univ. of Tampa), who had doubled earlier in the inning. In the seventh, Anderson knocked the game-winning single by scoring Carr, who had singled and was moved to second by a Bishop sacrifice bunt.

Savastano gave Franklin Pierce an early lead with his third homer of the season, but Adelphi scored once in the first and twice in the second to take its first lead of the day after two. The team knotted the game at two thanks to an RBI single from Ryan Boelson (Garden City, N.J./Nassau CC) and a Pat O’Neill (Oakville, Conn./Watertown) sacrifice fly followed later in the frame to give the Panthers a 3-2 lead.

Sophomore hurler Kyle Vasquez (Berlin, Conn./Berlin) held firm after the first two innings, however, holding Adelphi scoreless for the rest of his outing. The sophomore lasted seven innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on six hits with five strikeouts and a pair of walks. Sophomore Brian Maloney (Brockton, Mass./UMass Dartmouth) pitched a scoreless eighth for the Ravens before Bishop earned the save with a perfect ninth, including two strikeouts.

Sophomore southpaw Mike Scudero (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) took the loss for Adelphi, giving up four earned runs on eight hits in 7 1/3 innings of work. Scudero also struck out 10 Raven batters on the night.

Franklin Pierce (6-1, 0-0 NE-10) will continue play at the Santaluces Sports Complex tomorrow with a doubleheader against Saint Thomas Aquinas College beginning at 8:45 a.m. Adelphi (4-9, 0-0 ECC) takes on UMass Lowell tomorrow in Palm Beach, Fla. at 10 a.m.