Ravens lock up postseason berth

Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

WEST HAVEN, Conn. (April 25, 2009) – Freshman third baseman Ben Benigno (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull) went 3-for-5 with a double, drove in four runs and scored twice to lead the Franklin Pierce University baseball team to a 12-4 victory over New Haven in the first game of a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Frank Vieira Field. New Haven won the second game, 5-3, as senior second baseman Evan Okon (Bellmore, N.Y./Mepham) hit 2-for-3, drove in a run and scored another. With the win in the first game, Franklin Pierce clinched a spot in the Northeast-10 Conference Championships.

In the first game, New Haven opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the second inning. Freshman first baseman Cory Carr (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial) led off with a single through the right side, moved to second on an infield single by junior right fielder Kyle Donnelly (Oneonta, N.Y./Oneonta) and scored on an RBI single back through the middle by freshman left fielder Kyle Pettoruto (Andover, Mass./St. John’s Prep).

After being held off the board early on, Franklin Pierce scored four times in the top of the sixth inning to take a 4-1 lead it would not relinquish. With one out, freshman catcher Mike Dowd (East Bridgewater, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) was hit by a pitch and stole second. After a walk to senior left fielder Ted Lerud (Hampden, Mass./Minnechaug Regional), graduate student center fielder Cliff Hicks (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack HS) followed with a single to drive home Dowd and move Lerud to second. Benigno then knocked a double to left field to score both Lerud and Hicks. Benigno in turn scored on an RBI single to right field by senior first baseman Steve Carr (Nahant, Mass./Lake City CC).

The Ravens then broke it open in the top of the seventh inning, as they sent 10 men to the plate, scored five times and increased the lead to 9-1. All the damage came after the first two batters of the inning were retired, while three of the runs were unearned courtesy of a New Haven error. The keynote address came from Lerud, who pulled a two-run double into left field. Also in the inning, Benigno brought home a run with a single to center and junior second baseman Cody Kauffman (Blue Bell, Pa./Univ. of Massachusetts) pulled an RBI double down the left-field line.

New Haven got an unearned run back in the bottom half of the seventh to make it a 9-2 game as sophomore third baseman Tom Rombilus (Monroe, Conn./Masuk) scored while freshman pinch hitter Ken Bilodeau (Becket, Mass./Wahconah Regional) reached on an error by the pitcher.

Franklin Pierce tacked on three more runs in the top of the eighth inning to lengthen the lead to 12-2. In the inning, Lerud drove in his third run of the day with a single through the left side, Hicks brought in a run with a sacrifice fly to center and Benigno picked up his fourth RBI of the afternoon with a single through the right side.

New Haven picked up a single run each in the bottom of the eighth and ninth innings to create the 12-4 final. In the eighth, senior shortstop Kyle Bombace (North Branford, Conn./North Branford) came up with a run-scoring single, while senior left fielder Adam Rozum (Seymour, Conn./Seymour) knocked an RBI single through the left side in the ninth.

Junior right-hander Kyle Vazquez (Berlin, Conn./Berlin) started on the mound, threw six innings and picked up the win (7-0) in the first game for Franklin Pierce. He allowed one run on nine hits, walked one and struck out four.

Junior right-hander T.J. Phelan (Patchogue, N.Y./Patchogue Medford) started and took the loss (3-5) for New Haven. In 6.2 innings on the hill, he surrendered five runs on five hits, walked three, hit two batters and struck out eight.

In the second game, Franklin Pierce opened the scoring with a run in the top of the fourth inning. Hicks led off, poked a triple down the right-field line and scored two batters later on an RBI single through the right side of the infield by Steve Carr.

However, New Haven collected four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take the lead for good at 4-1. After sophomore catcher Dan Harper (Boca Raton, Fla./Spanish River Comm. HS) and freshman left fielder Jordan Kershaw (Seymour, Conn./Seymour) led off with back-to-back walks, Bombace reached on an infield single to third base which loaded the bases. Rombilus followed with a single to right field which scored Harper and kept the bases loaded. Kershaw then scored as freshman center fielder Ryan Brockett (Guilford, Conn./Guilford) reached via a fielder’s choice, while Franklin Pierce was unable to record an out due to an error by Kauffman at second base. Okon followed with a sacrifice fly to center field and then Rombilus stole third and scored as the throw to third from the catcher wound up in left field.

The Chargers added a run in the bottom of the seventh inning to extend the lead to 5-1. Okon led off with an infield single to shortstop, moved to second on a groundout, stole third and scored on a sacrifice fly to right field by Cory Carr.

Franklin Pierce would score twice in the top of the eighth inning, but could get no closer than 5-3. With one out, Lerud singled through the left side and moved to second as Hicks did the same. After a single to left by Benigno loaded the bases, Lerud and Hicks would both score on a two-run single down the left-field line by Steve Carr.

Graduate Student left-hander Steve Cadoret (Sterling, Mass./Boston College) started on the hill and took the loss (0-4) for Franklin Pierce in the second game. Over four innings, he allowed three runs on three hits, walked three and struck out two.

Junior left-hander Ian Solomon (East Northport, N.Y./Northport) started, threw 4.2 innings and did not factor in the decision for New Haven. He gave up one run on five hits, walked two, hit a batter and struck out two. Sophomore right-hander Mitch Rossi (Bristol, Conn./Bristol Central) tossed the final 4.1 innings, surrendered two runs on seven hits, walked one intentionally, struck out two and picked up the win (4-0) out of the bullpen.

The Ravens (28-15, 19-6 Northeast-10) return to the field on Tuesday, April 28, when they travel to Stonehill for a Northeast-10 Conference contest. First pitch is scheduled for noon at Lou Gorman Field in Easton, Mass. Franklin Pierce next plays at home on April 30 against Stonehill at 7 p.m., a game which will be broadcast on WEEI 93.5 FM Keene. New Haven (18-17, 14-13 Northeast-10) returns to action on April 28 at home against Merrimack.