Nothing to separate Northeast Region’s top two teams as Ravens hold on for 7-5 victory in game one and Bulldogs collect 6-5 victory in nightcap

RINDGE, N.H. (April 3, 2008) – Franklin Pierce University, ranked fourth in this week’s pingbaseball.com Division II poll, fifth in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) rankings and seventh in the Collegiate Baseball magazine poll, split a key Northeast-10 Conference baseball doubleheader with Bryant University, among teams receiving votes nationally, in a battle of the top two teams from this week’s NCBWA Northeast Regional rankings at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field this evening.

Junior preseason All-American Scott Savastano (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) and freshman Kyle Cabral (New Bedford, Mass./New Bedford) were the catalysts for Franklin Pierce tonight. Savastano was a combined 4-for-7 in the doubleheader with four runs scored, two home runs and double and two RBI, while Cabral hit a combined 3-for-6 with a double, homer and five RBI.

Junior Pat McKenna (Orange, Conn./Amity) was a combined 2-for-6 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored to lead Bryant.


Franklin Pierce 7, Bryant 5 (Game 1)

Franklin Pierce jumped out to a 5-0 lead after three innings and held on down the stretch to claim a 7-5 victory over Bryant in game one. The Ravens scored seven runs on ten hits (including six for extra bases) in the game, while the Bulldogs stranded 12 runners on base in the contest.

Scott Savastano was 3-for-4 with a pair of home runs for Franklin Pierce, while Kyle Cabral hit 2-for-3 with a grand slam and double. Sophomore Kevin Rivers (Bristol, Conn./Bristol Eastern) was 2-for-4 with a double and ruin scored.

Junior All-Region right-hander Mike Adams (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) improved to 5-0 (11-0 career) for the Ravens, allowing three runs, two earned, on seven hits with four strikeouts and two walks in six-plus innings of work. Senior All-Region reliever Tyler Bishop (Milford, N.H./Milford) picked up his third save of the season (15th career) with 1.1 scoreless innings, striking out three and working around two walks.

Pat McKenna was 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI for Bryant, while sophomore Jeff Vigurs (South Windsor, Conn./South Windsor) hit 1-for-3 with an RBI. Junior Dave Muscatello (Hopkinton, Mass.) batted 2-for-4 and sophomore Taylor Ferguson (Charlton, Mass./St. John’s) chipped in an RBI.

Junior Dan Lozeau (Pelham, N.H./Central Catholic) suffered the loss for the Bulldogs (2-2), surrendering five earned runs on six hits and two walks with a strikeout in two-plus innings.

Franklin Pierce staked out a 5-0 lead after three as Cabral belted a grand slam for his first collegiate extra base hit with one out in the second. Savastano led off the third with his fifth home run of the season to straight away center field.

Bryant scored single runs in the fourth and fifth, but Savastano’s second homer in as many at bats (sixth of the season) to lead off the bottom of the fifth put Franklin Pierce back in front by four runs (6-2). The Bulldogs closed within a run with a three-run seventh. Sophomore Nick Campbell (Raynham, Mass./Bridgewater-Raynham) led off the seventh with a single and later scored on a Vigurs ground out. McKenna followed with a two-run homer to left.

Franklin Pierce got an insurance run in the home half of the seventh as grad student Jake Christman (Newton, Mass./Newton South) led off with a double and later scored on a balk during a steal attempt of home plate.


Bryant 6 Franklin Pierce 5 (Game 2)

Bryant earned a split with a 6-5 victory in the nightcap to snap Franklin Pierce’s eight game winning streak. The Bulldogs go-ahead run scored on the bottom of the eighth as Kevin Rivers dropped a fly ball down the line in right that should have ended the inning. Instead, senior Mark Dondero (Medfield, Mass./Xavarian), who delivered a one-out double to right, scored the deciding run from second base.

Senior Jason Alexander (Simsbury, Conn./Simsbury) was 1-for-5 with a double and two RBI for Bryant. Junior Pat O’Connor (Mattapoisett, Mass./Old Rochester) was 1-for-3 with a double and RBI, while Jeff Vigurs and Taylor Ferguson each chipped in RBIs.

Freshman reliever Mark Andrews (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough), who posted a perfect inning of relief in game one, picked up the win in game two (1-0) with two hitless and scoreless innings of relief work on just 22 pitches (19 strikes), striking out three. Sophomore Eric Polvani (Wallingford, Conn./Sheehan) collected his fourth save of the season with a scoreless ninth, working around a lead off walk.

Junior Steve Carr (Nahant, Mass./St. Mary’s) was 2-for-4 for Franklin Pierce with a run scored. Jake Christman was 1-for-5 with a double and RBI to run his team-leading hitting streak to ten games, while senior Kevin Renaud (Southbridge, Mass./Southbridge) finished 2-for-4 with a double and run scored. Junior Cliff Hicks (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack) chipped in two RBI.

Junior reliever Corey Muscara (Manchester, N.H./Trinity) was the hard-luck losing pitcher for Franklin Pierce (0-1), surrendering the one unearned run in the eighth on one hit with six strikeouts and two walks over 3.2 innings. Ravens sophomore Brian Maloney (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) allowed four earned runs on three hits with six strikeouts and four walks in four-plus innings.

Bryant led 3-1 after Alexander delivered a two-run double in the second. Franklin Pierce scored single runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings to take its only lead of the game (4-3) after senior Matt Anderson (Medford, Mass./Medford) collected an RBI single. Christman had an RBI double down the line in left in the fourth.

Bryant answered with two in the home half of the fifth with Vigurs posting an RBI double to right center. Nick Campbell was hit by a pitch and later scored on a Ferguson ground out. Franklin Pierce knotted the score again in the seventh when Savastano was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame and later scored when Hicks reached on a fielder’s choice.

Franklin Pierce (18-3, 5-1 NE-10) is scheduled to be back in action tomorrow for a non-conference clash with LIU-C.W. Post at 4 p.m. Saturday’s home doubleheader with Saint Michael’s College has been pushed back to Sunday at 1 p.m. Bryant (17-11, 7-2 NE-10) hosts Saint Anselm College for an NE-10 doubleheader on Saturday at noon.