Lerud drives home four runs

Box Score

RINDGE, N.H. (March 31, 2009) – Senior left fielder Ted Lerud (Hampden, Mass./Minnechaug Regional) went 3-for-4 with a home run and drove in four runs on Tuesday afternoon to lead the Franklin Pierce University baseball team to an 8-6 victory over Saint Rose in Northeast-10 Conference play at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field. Sophomore designated hitter Derek Ingui (Sterling, Mass./Wachusett Regional) finished 3-for-5 with a triple, drove in two runs and scored another for the Ravens as well.

Franklin Pierce opened the scoring with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning. Ingui led off with a single through the right side and then stole second. Three batters later, he would score when Lerud deposited a home run, his second of the season, just beyond the left-field fence to give the Ravens a 2-0 lead.

Saint Rose cut the lead in half with an unearned run in the top of the second inning. With one out, senior designated hitter Dominick Iaconis (New Fairfield, Conn./Mount St. Michael) worked a walk and took second on a passed ball. He scored to cut the Franklin Pierce lead to 2-1 two batters later on a single back through the middle by sophomore right fielder Garret Keenan (Massapequa, N.Y./Post Univ.).

Franklin Pierce pushed the lead to 4-1 with two runs in the bottom half of the second. Freshman third baseman Ben Benigno (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull) led off with a single to right-center field and came all the way around from first when senior first baseman Steve Carr (Nahant, Mass./Lake City CC) followed with an RBI double into the left-field corner. Carr moved to third on a groundout and then scored on a sacrifice fly to center by sophomore shortstop Jose Macias (Bronx, N.Y./Monroe College).

Saint Rose picked up an unearned run in the top of the third inning to make it 4-2. With one out, junior left fielder Ryan Price (Binghamton, N.Y./Binghamton) was hit by a pitch and moved to second when junior center fielder Jake Perez (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) followed with a single up the middle. After a passed ball moved the runners to second and third, sophomore third baseman Grant Smith (Waterford, Pa./Fort LeBoeuf) knocked an RBI single through the right side. Price scored on the play, but Perez was cut down on a one-hop strike to the plate by Franklin Pierce junior right fielder Kevin Rivers (Bristol, Conn./Bristol Eastern).

Franklin Pierce added a run to make it 5-2 in the bottom half of the third. Freshman catcher Mike Dowd (East Bridgewater, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) led off, was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a single back up the middle by Lerud, who picked up his third RBI of the day.

The Ravens would again extend the lead, to 6-2, with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning. With two outs, Macias looped a single into left field, stole second and came home to score when Ingui drove his team-leading third triple of the year into the gap in right-center field.

Saint Rose struck for two runs in the top of the fifth inning to cut the lead to 6-4. Freshman shortstop Nick Alexandrovich (Commack, N.Y./Commack) led off, was hit by a pitch and moved to third on a double to right-center field by freshman second baseman Michael Carbone (Montreal, Quebec). Price followed with an RBI single to center field to drive home Alexandrovich and move Carbone to third. After a wild pitch allowed Price to take second, Perez worked a walk to load the bases. The Franklin Pierce starter, junior right-hander Kyle Vazquez (Berlin, Conn./Berlin), then committed a balk to score Carbone and move the other runners up a base. After a strikeout, Smith was hit by a pitch to reload the bases and end Vazquez’s day on the mound. Junior left-hander Brian Maloney (Brockton, Mass./Univ. of Mass. Dartmouth) came on in relief, struck out the first batter he faced and then induced a fielder’s choice groundout to escape the inning without any further damage.

The Golden Knights then tied the game at 6-6 with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth inning. Keenan led off and dropped a bunt single up the first-base line. He would then steal second and score on a double belted into the left-center field gap by Carbone. Carbone in turn moved to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch to tie the ballgame.

Franklin Pierce would reclaim the lead with a run in the bottom half of the sixth. With two outs, Macias reached second base when the Saint Rose shortstop dropped a pop-up in shallow center field. Ingui then capitalized on the error as he looped an RBI single into center to plate Macias and give the Ravens a 7-6 lead they would not relinquish.

The Ravens created the 8-6 final with a run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Rivers led off with a double over the head of the left fielder and then scored on a single back through the middle by Lerud.

Vazquez started on the mound and did not factor in the decision for Franklin Pierce. Over 4.1 innings, he gave up four runs (two earned) on six hits, walked two, hit three batters, threw a wild pitch and struck out nine. Maloney picked up the win (1-0) in relief for the Ravens. In 1.2 innings on the rubber, he gave up two runs on two hits, walked one, threw a wild pitch and struck out three. Sophomore right-hander Rob Nicholas (Northboro, Mass./Algonquin Regional) tossed a scoreless ninth, struck out two and gave up a hit to tally his first save of the season.

Senior right-hander Brendon Malkowski (Guilderland, N.Y./Guilderland) started on the hill and took the loss (1-5) for Saint Rose. Over seven innings, he surrendered eight runs (seven earned) on 12 hits, issued no walks, hit two batters and struck out four.

The Ravens (10-11, 3-2 Northeast-10) return to the field on Thursday, April2, when they travel to Saint Rose for a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at Bleecker Stadium in Albany, N.Y. Franklin Pierce returns home on Wednesday, April 8 against Southern Connecticut State at 3:30 p.m. Saint Rose (7-14, 3-5 Northeast-10) returns to action on April 1 at home against Caldwell.