Rivers drives in three runs over two games

Box Score vs. Caldwell
Box Score vs. Felician

LANTANA, Fla. (March 14, 2009) – The No. 10 nationally-ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team split a pair of neutral-site, non-conference games on Saturday at Santaluces Sportsplex. First, Franklin Pierce defeated Caldwell, 10-4, and later lost to Felician, 5-1. Junior right fielder Kevin Rivers (Bristol, Conn./Bristol Eastern) led the attack for Franklin Pierce, as he went 5-for-9, drove in three runs and scored four times over the course of the two games.

The Ravens opened the first game with four runs in the bottom of the first and never looked back. Fifth-year center fielder Cliff Hicks (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack HS) led off with a single through the right side and scored from first on a double to right-center by freshman third baseman Ben Benigno (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull). Benigno then moved to third as sophomore designated hitter Derek Ingui (Sterling, Mass./Wachusett Regional) reached on an error. Rivers followed with an RBI single through the right side to score Benigno and move Ingui to second. After a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third, senior first baseman Ted Lerud (Hampden, Mass./Minnechaug Regional) knocked a single up the middle to drive home Ingui and move Rivers to third. Rivers would then score while junior left fielder Eric Pearson (Webster, N.H./Merrimack Valley) reached on a fielder’s choice.

Franklin Pierce would push the lead to 5-0 with a run in the bottom of the third. With one out, Rivers drove a double to right-center field and scored when freshman catcher Mike Dowd (East Bridgewater, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) followed with a double to left field.

The two teams each scored a pair of runs in the fifth inning. First, in the top half of the inning, Caldwell cut the lead to 5-2. Freshman designated hitter Jorge Ynoa (Bayside, N.Y./Bayside) and freshman center fielder Joe Doerrer (Middletown, N.J./Rantan) opened the inning with back-to-back singles to center and moved to second and third, respectively, on a sacrifice bunt. Senior left fielder Jorge Torres (Coral Springs, Fla./J.P. Taravella) followed with a two-run double to right field.

The Ravens answered with two runs to make the lead 7-2 in the bottom half of the inning. With one out, Ingui doubled to right-center and scored on a double to left field by Rivers. After moving to third on a flyout, Rivers would score when Lerud reached on a fielding error by the Caldwell third baseman.

Franklin Pierce added an unearned run in the sixth and single runs in the seventh and eighth on sacrifice flies by Lerud and Dowd, respectively. Caldwell scored a pair of runs in the top of the seventh to create the 10-4 final.

Junior right-hander Kyle Vazquez (Berlin, Conn./Berlin) started on the mound and earned the win (3-0) for Franklin Pierce in the first game of the day. Over eight innings, he gave up four runs on seven hits, walked one, threw a wild pitch, hit two batters and struck out 10.

Senior right-hander Stephen Pfeil (Hampstead, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) started on the hill and took the loss (0-1) for Caldwell. Over five innings, he gave up seven runs (four earned) on nine hits, walked nobody and struck out three.

In the second game of the day, Felician opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, junior shortstop Alex Del Valle (Miami, Fla./Le Moyne) was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a single by junior catcher Marcos Torres (Miami, Fla./South Miami). Del Valle would then score on a single by senior third baseman Dave Schoer (Manalapan, N.J./Manalapan).

The Golden Falcons pushed the lead to 3-0 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth. Senior right fielder Mike Libretta (Staten Island, N.Y./Moore Catholic) led off with a single. He would then move up to third base as senior first baseman Anthony Spina (Toms River, N.J./Toms River North) ended up on second via a single and an error. Libretta would later score on a wild pitch, while Spina came home on an RBI double by Del Valle.

Felician then made it 4-0 with a run in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, senior designated hitter Jordan Noval (Manalapan, N.J./Manalapan) singled, moved to second on a single by Libretta and later scored on a single by sophomore left fielder Marcus McCleod (East Windsor, N.J./Hightstown).

Franklin Pierce’s only run of the second game came in the top of the seventh inning. Ingui led off with a single and moved to second on a throwing error. He would then take third on a botched pickoff attempt and come in to score on a single by Rivers.

Felician answered with a run in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI single by senior center fielder Vinnie DiBenedetti (Forked River, N.J./Lacey Township) to create the 5-1 final.

Senior left-hander Alex Szymanski (Londonderry, N.H./Northern Essex CC) started on the mound for Franklin Pierce in the second game of the day and took the loss (0-1). Over 4.2 innings, he gave up three runs on five hits, walked nobody, threw two wild pitches, hit a batter and struck out seven.

Junior left-hander Danny Conti (Aberdeen, N.J./Matawan Regional) threw a complete-game five-hitter to pick up the win (1-0) for Felician. He allowed just one unearned run, walked one and struck out six.

The Ravens (5-4, 0-0 Norteast-10) return to the field on Sunday, March 15, for a non-conference doubleheader at St. Thomas. First pitch is scheduled for noon in Miami Gardens, Fla. Franklin Pierce’s first home game is scheduled for Thursday, March 26 against Southern New Hampshire at 3 p.m.