Ravens take game one, 9-1, behind Adams complete game win
Ravens wrap up sweep as Vazquez fires five shutout innings in 6-1 game two win

NEW CASTLE, Del. (March 2, 2008) – Franklin Pierce University, ranked fifth in this week’s pingbaseball.com Division II poll and sixth in the Collegiate Baseball magazine rankings, opened its season with a double-header sweep of Wilmington (Del.) University in non-conference baseball action today.

Franklin Pierce posted a 9-1 victory in game one, behind a complete-game effort from junior All-Region righthander Mike Adams (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park), before completing the sweep with a 6-1 victory in the nightcap as sophomore righthander Kyle Vazquez (Berlin, Conn./Berlin) tossed five innings of shutout work.


Franklin Pierce 9, Wilmington (Del.) 1 (Game 1)

In game one, junior All-Region righthander Mike Adams went the distance, allowing just an earned run, while scattering three hits with no walks and a career-high ten strikeouts over nine innings to lead Franklin Pierce to the season-opening win.

Senior All-Region outfielder Kevin Renaud (Southbridge, Mass./Southbridge) paced the Ravens offense as he hit 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, five RBI and three stolen bases. Junior preseason All-American Scott Savastano (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) was 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and two RBI. Junior Steve Carr (Nahant, Mass./Lake City CC) chipped in by batting 2-for-5.

Franklin Pierce struck first with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. Renaud followed a walk from All-Region grad student Jake Christman (Newton, Mass./Newton South) and single by Savastano with a two-run double.

Wilmington drew within a run on Holliday’s solo home run off Adams in the second, but Franklin Pierce answered with a run in the third before breaking the game open with four in the fourth. Senior All-Region catcher Matt Anderson (Medford, Mass./Medford) drove in Savastano, who singled, with an RBI single in the third. Savastano had a two run double and Renaud delivered an RBI single to highlight the Ravens four-run fourth, while Christman chipped in an RBI.

Franklin Pierce closed out the scoring with single runs in the sixth and eighth innings.


Franklin Pierce 6, Wilmington (Del.) 1 (Game 2)

Franklin Pierce completed the sweep behind a balanced offensive effort and five innings of four-hit shutout work from sophomore Kyle Vazquez in the nightcap. Vazquez struck out six and walked none to earn his first win of the season.

Junior Cliff Hicks (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack) was the lone Franklin Pierce batter with multiple hits as he finished 2-for-3 with a stolen base and run scored. Kevin Renaud finished 1-for-3 with two runs scored, an RBI and two steals and has now hit safely in 17-straight games dating back to last season. Matt Anderson chipped in with two RBI.

Franklin Pierce again opened the scoring in the first inning as sophomore Kevin Rivers (Bristol, Conn./Bristol Eastern) collected an RBI triple and later scored on a throwing error. Anderson drove in Renaud, who was hit by a pitch, with a sacrifice fly.

The Ravens added two in the third as Renaud posted an RBI single and Anderson added his second sac fly of the game before closing out the scoring with a single run in the sixth. Wilmington got on the board with a run in the bottom of the seventh.

Franklin Pierce (2-0, 0-0 NE-10) is scheduled to be back in action on Friday, when it visits Adelphi University, among teams receiving votes nationally, at 3 p.m. Wilmington (0-2, 0-0 CACC) travels to Florida this week, where it will face LIU-C.W. Post on Tuesday at 10 a.m.