Ravens score late 4-1 win in game one behind pinch-hit two-run single by Copp Ravens roll to 10-2 victory in nightcap with 14-hit attack

EASTON, N.H. (March 29, 2008) – Franklin Pierce University, ranked fifth in this week’s pingbaseball.com Division II poll, sixth in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) poll and eighth in the Collegiate Baseball magazine rankings, swept a Northeast-10 Conference baseball doubleheader at Stonehill College, ranked sixth in the NCBWA Northeast Regional rankings, at Gorman Field this afternoon.

Franklin Pierce Head Coach Jayson King collected his 300th win at Franklin Pierce with the Ravens game one victory. After the doubleheader sweep, King is now 301-160-1 (.653) in his tenth season at Franklin Pierce. He has recorded a 322-207-1 (.609) career record over 12 seasons.


Franklin Pierce 4, Stonehill 1 (Game 1)

Franklin Pierce scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning to take game one, 4-1. Junior Ryan Copp (Cumberland, Maine/Greely) broke a 1-1 tie with a pinch-hit two-run single in the ninth and freshman Derek Ingui (Spencer, Mass./Wachusett Regional) drew a bases-loaded walk to cap the scoring for the Ravens.

Senior All-Region reliever Tyler Bishop (Milford, N.H./Milford) earned the win for Franklin Pierce with two innings of no-hit shutout relief, striking out three and walking one. Ravens sophomore Kyle Vazquez (Berlin, Conn./Berlin) got the start and allowed just one unearned run on five hits with five strikeouts and a walk over seven innings.

Junior Cliff Hicks (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack) hit 2-for-3 with a run scored for Franklin Pierce, while sophomore Kevin Rivers (Bristol, Conn./Bristol Eastern) was 2-for-4 with a run scored. Grad student Jake Christman (Newton, Mass./Newton South) finished 2-4 with a stolen base.

Junior Javier Guzman (San Juan, Puerto Rico) was the lone Stonehill batter with multiple hits, going 2-for-4. Sophomore Rob Von Stein (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull) added a double.

Senior Nick SantaBarbara (Middleton, Mass./Masconomet) suffered the loss, allowing four earned runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and five walks over 8.1 innings.

Franklin Pierce struck first with a single run in the top of the first. Ingui drew a one-out walk, stole second and advanced to third on a fly out, before scoring on a wild pitch. Stonehill got that run back in the second. Sophomore Brenden Shepard (Boxford, Mass./Masconomet) drew a lead off walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored when senior Dave Fradette (Goffstown, N.H./Goffstown) reached on a throwing error.

The game remained knotted at 1-1 until the Ravens were able to break the deadlock in the ninth.


Franklin Pierce 10, Stonehill 2 (Game 2)

Franklin Pierce staked out a 6-0 lead after five innings and never looked back to complete the key NE-10 doubleheader sweep with a 10-2 triumph.

Franklin Pierce’s one-through-four batters in the lineup did the bulk of the damage for the Ravens, combining for nine of their 14 hits in the contest. Junior preseason All-American Scott Savastano (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) hit 3-for-5 with a double, two runs scored and two RBI. Senior Kevin Renaud (Southbridge, Mass./Southbridge) was 2-for-4 with two stolen bases and three RBI, while Derek Ingui batted 2-for-4 with two runs scored, a stolen base and RBI. Jake Christman also collected two hits in the game.

Sophomore Brian Maloney (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) had command on the mound to pick up the win. He allowed two earned runs on four hits with 11 strikeouts and just one walk over seven innings. Sophomore Heath Wasylow (Rehoboth, Mass./Dighton-Rehoboth) and junior Corey Muscara (Manchester, N.H./Trinity) combined for two innings of no-hit shutout relief.

Sophomore Mitch Davis (Bow, N.H./Bow) had two of Stonehill’s four hits in the contest, going 2-for-4 with a run scored. Junior Nate Weber (Hanson, Mass./Whitman-Hanson) was 1-for-3 with an RBI, while Brenden Shepard chipped in an RBI for the Skyhawks.

Junior Matt Giusti (Hopkinton, Mass./Williston-Northampton) suffered the loss for the Skyhawks, allowing six earned runs on ten hits with seven strikeouts and no walks in five innings of work.

Franklin Pierce scored twice in its first at bat as Ingui and Savastano singled with one out and scored on a two-run single to right by Renaud. The Ravens added a run in the second on an RBI single to right by freshman Kyle Cabral (New Bedford, Mass./New Bedford). Franklin Pierce scored twice more in the fourth with RBI singles from Christman and Ingui, before adding a single run in the fifth on an RBI single from Hicks.

Stonehill broke through with two in the sixth with an RBI single from Weber, while Davis scored on a ground out. An RBI single by Renaud put Franklin Pierce up 7-2, before the Ravens broke the game open with a three-run eighth. Savastano had a two-run single in the frame.

Franklin Pierce (16-2, 3-0 NE-10) is back in action on Tuesday when it visits Bryant University, ranked second in the region, at 3:30 p.m. This game was originally scheduled as a Franklin Pierce home game, but the schools swapped home dates due to field conditions at Franklin Pierce. Stonehill (12-8, 4-2 NE-10) hosts Merrimack College on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. Franklin Pierce and Stonehill will conclude their three-game regular season series in Rindge, N.H., on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.