Ravens cruise to 13-2 victory in game one, claim nightcap 7-2; Renaud hits a combined 8-for-8 to lead Ravens to NE-10 sweep

MANCHESTER, N.H. (April 19, 2008) – Franklin Pierce University, ranked eighth in this week’s pingbaseball.com Division II poll, 11th in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) poll and 16th in the Collegiate Baseball magazine poll, swept a Northeast-10 Conference baseball doubleheader at Southern New Hampshire University this afternoon. Franklin Pierce posted a 13-2 victory in game one, before claiming a 7-2 victory in the nightcap at Penmen Field.

Senior All-Region outfielder Kevin Renaud (Southbridge, Mass./Southbridge) hit a combined 8-for-8 in the doubleheader, collecting five hits in the nightcap, to go with two runs scored, a double, stolen base and three RBI on the afternoon. Junior Randy Bernosky (Port Huron, Mich./Port Huron Northern) was a combined 3-for-6 with three runs scored, a home run and two RBI, while freshman Derek Ingui (Sterling, Mass./Wachusett Regional) added four RBI on the day.


Franklin Pierce 13, Southern New Hampshire 2 (Game 1)

Franklin Pierce scored ten runs in the fifth through seventh innings to bust open a 3-2 game and post the 13-2 victory in game one.

Kevin Renaud was 3-for-3 with a double, run scored and two RBI for Franklin Pierce, while Derek Ingui hit 2-for-4 with two doubles, three runs scored and three RBI. Junior preseason All-American Scott Savastano (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) batted 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBI, while sophomore Kevin Rivers (Bristol, Mass./Bristol Eastern) was 2-for-3 with an RBI and run scored. Junior Jacob Ferriera (Westport, Mass./Bishop Stang) also chipped in with two hits.

Freshman Vinny Gemma (Revere, Mass./St. John’s Prep) earned his first collegiate win (1-0) for Franklin Pierce with 4.1 innings of one-hit shutout relief, striking out five with just one walk. Ravens starter Brian Maloney (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) allowed two runs, one earned, on just one hit, but walked four with three strikeouts in 2.1 innings.

Senior Bill Murray (Canton, Mass.) was the lone Southern New Hampshire batter with multiple hits, going 2-for-4 with a double. Sophomore Chris O’Neil (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford) hit 1-for-3 for the Penmen, who scored two runs without the benefit of an RBI.

Junior Ryan Quinn (Lebanon, Conn./Lyman Memorial) suffered the loss for the Penmen (2-4), yielding nine runs, six earned, on ten hits with three strikeouts and four walks in 5.1 innings.

Franklin Pierce scored single runs over its first three at bats, but Southern New Hampshire closed within a run with a two-run third, scoring runs on a catcher’s error and wild pitch.

Franklin Pierce scored three runs in both the fifth and sixth, before plating four in the seventh. Senior Tyler Bishop (Milford, N.H./Milford) delivered a two-run single in the fifth, with a third run scoring on an error on the play. Ferriera scored on a wild pitch, while Savastano collected a sacrifice fly and Renaud posted an RBI double in the sixth. Ingui cleared the bases with a bases-loaded double in the seventh, while Savastano added an RBI ground-rule double to round out the scoring.


Franklin Pierce 7, Southern New Hampshire 2 (Game 2)

Kevin Renaud completed his perfect hitting day with five singles to pace Franklin Pierce’s nine-hit effort in the Ravens 7-2 victory in the nightcap.

Renaud with 5-for-5 with a stolen base, RBI and run scored, while Randy Bernosky hit 2-for-3 with a home run, two runs scored and an RBI.

Sophomore righthander Tyler Sykes (Sterling, Mass./St. Peter-Marian) struck out a career-best ten SNHU batters en route to his second win of the season (2-1). He allowed an earned run on just two hits and three walks in five innings. Sykes struck out the side in the first and second, recording strikeouts on seven of the first eight outs of the game. Junior Alex Szymanski (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) closed the game out to record his first save of the year, allowing an earned run on two hits with a strikeout and no walks over the final four innings.

Chris O’Neil was 1-for-4 with an RBI for Southern New Hampshire. Sophomore Eric Pelletier (Beverly, Mass./Bishop Fenwick) finished 1-for-2 with a walk.

Junior Greg Lyons (Canton, Mass.) suffered the loss (1-7), yielding five runs, just one earned, on six hits with three strikeouts and two walks over 6.2 innings.

SNHU had the early advantage in the game, scoring a single run in the first as Bill Murray drew a two-out walk, stole second and scored on a single to right center by O’Neil. Franklin Pierce plated single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to gain the lead. Renaud led off the fourth with a single through the left side. After reaching second on a sacrifice bunt by Kevin Rivers, Renaud stole third and scored on a throwing error by the Penmen’s catcher. The Ravens took the lead on a two-out RBI single through the left side by Ingui in the fifth.

A three-run seventh extended Franklin Pierce’s lead to 5-1. Bernosky led off the inning with his first home run of the season. Ingui scored when Scott Savastano reached on an error and Renaud added an RBI single through the right side. SNHU got one run back in the home half, when junior Scott Strong (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) scored on a wild pitch.

Franklin Pierce added two more in the eighth to round out the scoring. Junior Cliff Hicks (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack) scored on a passed ball, with Bernosky following close behind on another error by the Penmen catcher on the play.

Franklin Pierce (28-7-1, 13-5-1 NE-10) and Southern New Hampshire (6-25, 4-18 NE-10) conclude their three-game weekend series at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field in Rindge tomorrow at 1 p.m.