Baseball Falls At Southern New Hampshire, 3-2, In 11 Innings
Vazquez notches career-high 11 strikeouts
Kyle Vazquez matched his career high with 13 strikeouts at Southern New Hampshire on Thursday afternoon. |
MANCHESTER, N.H. (March 26, 2009)
– Junior first baseman Robert Wronski (Arlington,
Mass./Northeastern) drove in the winning run with a single to
center field in the bottom of the 11th inning to lead Southern New
Hampshire to a 3-2 victory over the Franklin Pierce University
baseball team in Northeast-10 Conference play at Penmen Field on
Thursday afternoon. Junior right-hander Kyle Vazquez (Berlin, Conn./Berlin)
matched his career high with 13 strikeouts over 8.1 innings for
Franklin Pierce.
Southern New Hampshire opened the scoring with a run in the bottom
of the third inning. With one out, junior third baseman Eric
Pelletier (Beverly, Mass./Bishop Fenwick) drove a double to the gap
in left-center field and came around to score when junior center
fielder Chris O’Neil (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford) followed
with an RBI single to give the Penmen a 1-0 lead.
The Penmen extended the lead to 2-0 with a run in the bottom of the
sixth. Senior right fielder Scott Strong (Naperville,
Ill./Naperville North) led off with a single to right-center and
moved to second on a wild pitch. Two batters later, he came into
score on a double to left-center by sophomore second baseman Koby
Thibault (Salisbury, Mass./Triton Regional).
Franklin Pierce cut the lead in half with a run in the top of the
seventh. Freshman catcher Mike
Dowd (East Bridgewater, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) led off the
inning with a solo home run to left field, his second of the
season, to bring the Ravens within a run at 2-1.
The Ravens then tied the game 2-2 with a run in the top of the
eighth. Fifth-year center fielder Cliff Hicks (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack
HS) led off with a walk and moved to second on an errant
pickoff throw. After a walk to junior right fielder Kevin Rivers (Bristol, Conn./Bristol
Eastern), senior first baseman Steve Carr (Nahant, Mass./Lake City CC)
laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third
with one out. After an intentional walk to Dowd loaded the bases,
freshman Colin Halloran
(Tyngsboro, Mass./Tyngsboro) came through with a pinch-hit,
infield single to drive home Hicks from third.
Southern New Hampshire would take the 3-2 victory in final at-bat
fashion with a run in the bottom of the 11th inning. Strong and
senior left fielder Jeff Giannino (Beverly, Mass./Bishop Fenwick)
led off the inning with back-to-back walks. Two batters later,
Wronski brought home the winning run from second with a single to
center field.
Vazquez started on the mound and did not factor in the decision for
Franklin Pierce. Over 8.1 innings, he gave up two runs on seven
hits, walked two, threw a wild pitch and recorded a career-high 11
strikeouts. Fifth-year left-hander Steve Cadoret (Sterling, Mass./Boston
College) took the loss (0-1) in relief for the Ravens. In
1.2 innings out of the bullpen, he gave up one run on no hits,
walked two and struck out two.
Senior right-hander Ryan Quinn (Lebanon, Conn./Lyman Hall) started
on the hill for Southern New Hampshire and also did not factor in
the decision. Over 6.2 innings, he surrendered a run on four hits,
walked one and struck out seven. Freshman right-hander Brad Monroe
(Hampton Falls, N.H./Winnacunnet) tossed the final 3.2 innings to
pick up the win (1-3) for the Penmen. He allowed just two hits,
walked two and struck out three.
The Ravens (7-11, 0-2 Northeast-10) return to the field on
Saturday, March 28, when they return home to host American
International in a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader. First
pitch is scheduled for noon at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field
in Rindge, N.H. Southern New Hampshire (7-9, 4-1 Northeast-10)
returns to action on March 28 with a doubleheader at Merrimack.