Every Raven starter scores or drives in a run

Box Score

RINDGE, N.H. (April 10, 2009) – Freshman third baseman Ben Benigno (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull) went 3-for-5, drove in three runs and scored three times on Friday afternoon to lead the Franklin Pierce University baseball team to a 14-4 win over Bentley in Northeast-10 Conference play at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field. All nine members of the Franklin Pierce starting lineup either drove in a run or scored a run in the victory.

Bentley opened the scoring with a pair of runs in the top of the second inning. Sophomore right fielder James Roche (Arlington, Mass./Arlington) led off, singled to center field and moved around to third when junior center fielder Brett Damato (Commack, N.Y./Commack) followed and pulled a double just inside the bag at third and down the left field line. Both runners would score when freshman left fielder Mark Lane (Tyngsboro, Mass./Tyngsboro) hit an infield single off of Benigno at third. Damato scored on the single while Lane came around as Benigno threw the ball away in an attempt to throw out Lane at first.

The Ravens got the runs back and then some as they took a 5-2 lead with five runs in the bottom half of the second. Senior left fielder Ted Lerud (Hampden, Mass./Minnechaug Regional) started things off with a single to center field and moved to second when fifth-year center fielder Cliff Hicks (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack HS) worked a walk. After a balk moved both runners up a base, Lerud scored from third when Benigno lifted a ball on the right side that turned into an RBI single when the Bentley second baseman lost it in the sun. After senior first baseman Steve Carr (Nahant, Mass./Lake City CC) was hit by a pitch to load the bases, junior second baseman Cody Kauffman (Blue Bell, Pa./Univ. of Massachusetts) hit a sacrifice fly to deep center field to drive home Hicks and moved the other runners up a base. Freshman shortstop Jose Macias (Bronx, N.Y./Monroe College) followed and went the other way into the right-field corner for a two-run triple. Sophomore designated hitter Derek Ingui (Sterling, Mass./Wachusett Regional) capped the scoring in the inning with a sacrifice fly to right field to drive in Macias.

Franklin Pierce broke the game open and took a 9-2 lead with four runs in the bottom of the third inning. Junior right fielder Kevin Rivers (Bristol, Conn./Bristol Eastern) led off with a single to left field and moved to third when Lerud bounced a hit-and-run single through the right side. Rivers would score and Lerud moved around to third when Hicks followed and pushed a double down the right-field line. Benigno then drove in his second and third runs of the game when he bounced a single through the right side to bring home Lerud and Hicks. Benigno moved to second on a single through the left side by Carr, went to third on a double play and came in to score an unearned run when Macias reached on a fielding error by the third baseman.

Franklin Pierce tacked on five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to extend the lead to 14-2. In the inning, Carr drove a two-run triple into the right-field corner, Kauffman punched an RBI single into center field and Rivers brought home a pair of runs when he pulled a double which hopped up against the fence in the right-center field gap.

Bentley picked up a run on a double-play grounder in the top of the eighth inning and another run on a solo home run by Roche, his seventh of the season, to left-center in the top of the ninth to create the 14-4 final.

Senior left-hander James Palmer (Stoneham, Mass./Stoneham) started on the hill and picked up the win (2-2) for Franklin Pierce. In seven innings on the rubber, he gave up two runs on four hits, walked two, threw a wild pitch and struck out six.

Sophomore right-hander Rob Finneran (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) started on the mound and took the loss (4-1) for Bentley. Over four innings, he was touched up for 11 runs (10 earned) on 11 hits, walked one, hit a batter and struck out two.

The Ravens (17-12, 8-3 Northeast-10) return to the field on Saturday, April 11, when they host Merrimack in a Northeast-10 Conference Doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for noon at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field in Rindge, N.H. Bentley (18-14, 9-5 Northeast-10) returns to action on April 11 at Saint Anselm.