Ravens advance to play at 7 p.m.

Box Score

Assumption Advances to Championship Round

RINDGE, N.H. (May 9, 2009) – Senior left fielder Ted Lerud (Hampden, Mass./Minnechaug Regional) went 4-for-5 with two home runs and drove in five runs on Saturday afternoon to help the top-seeded Franklin Pierce University baseball team stave off elimination with a 12-3 victory over Massachusetts Lowell in the Northeast-10 Conference Baseball Championship. Four Franklin Pierce players combined to hit five home runs in the game.

Massachusetts Lowell jumped out to a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. Freshman second baseman Pat Devlin (Tewksbury, Mass./Tewksbury) led off with a single back through the middle, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored when senior designated hitter Tim Keene (Berlin, N.H./Berlin) clubbed an RBI double into the right-center field gap. Keene would move to third on a single to center by junior catcher Jared Notargiacomo (Newburyport, Mass./Newburyport) and later scored on a bases-loaded RBI single to right field by freshman right fielder Matt Jacobs (Hudson, Mass./Hudson). Franklin Pierce junior right fielder Kevin Rivers (Bristol, Conn./Bristol Eastern) threw out Notargiacomo at the plate on the play to end the inning.

Franklin Pierce answered immediately and took a 3-2 lead with three runs in the bottom half of the first. Sophomore designated hitter Derek Ingui (Sterling, Mass./Wachusett Regional) led off and lined the first pitch of the game by Massachusetts Lowell freshman left-hander Jack Leathersich (Beverly, Mass./Beverly) into the gap in right-center field for a double. Freshman catcher Mike Dowd (East Bridgewater, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) followed and launched a two-run home run to left-center to tie the game. It was the seventh homer of the season for Dowd, which tied him with Ingui for the team lead. Rivers then singled through the right side of the infield and moved to second on a single to left field by senior left fielder Ted Lerud (Hampden, Mass./Minnechaug Regional). After Rivers stole third despite being picked off of second base, he scored from third on a sacrifice fly into foul territory deep in left field by senior first baseman Steve Carr (Nahant, Mass./Lake City CC).

The Ravens extended the lead to 4-2 with a run in the bottom of the third inning. With one out, Lerud hit his sixth home run of the season, a solo shot to left-center field.

Massachusetts Lowell picked up a run in the top of the fourth inning to pull to within a run at 4-3. Junior first baseman Taylor von Kriegenbergh (Stoneham, Mass./Stoneham) led off with a single to center field and moved to second on a single to left by sophomore third baseman Mark Wiggins (Rochester, N.H./Spaulding). After moving to third on a wild pitch, von Kriegenbergh scored on a sacrifice fly to left field by junior shortstop J.T. Leary (Newburyport, Mass./Newburyport).

Franklin Pierce extended the lead to 7-3 with three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Ingui led off and launched his eighth home run of the season into the parking lot beyond the left-field fence to reclaim the team lead in home runs. Two batters later, with one out, Rivers worked a walk and scored when Lerud hammered his second home run of the game, also into the parking lot, to drive home his second and third runs of the game.

The Ravens broke the game open with four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to push the lead to 11-3. Freshman third baseman Ben Benigno (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull) led off and hit his second home run of the season, a solo shot to left-center field. Later, with two outs, Ingui pulled a double down the left-field line and scored when Dowd lined an RBI single into right-center. After a ground-rule double down the right-field line by Rivers moved Dowd around to third, Lerud brought both runners home with a single through the left-side of the infield.

Franklin Pierce added a run in the bottom of the eighth inning on an RBI double down the right-field line by Dowd to create the 12-3 final.

Senior left-hander Tom Cote (Swanzey, N.H./Univ. of Massachusetts) started on the mound and did not factor in the decision for Franklin Pierce. Over 4.1 innings, he allowed three runs on eight hits, walked three, threw a wild pitch and struck out five. Sophomore right-hander Rob Nicholas (Northboro, Mass./Algonquin Regional) picked up the win (2-1) out of the bullpen for the Ravens. In 2.2 innings of scoreless relief, he allowed two hits, threw a wild pitch and struck out two.

Leathersich started, threw 4.1 innings and took the loss (7-4) for Massachusetts Lowell. He was touched up for seven runs on 10 hits, walked one and struck out three.

With the win, Franklin Pierce (34-16) advances to play at 7 p.m. tonight against the loser of this afternoon’s game between top-seeded Assumption and fifth-seeded New Haven. With the loss, Massachusetts Lowell (25-21) is eliminated from the Northeast-10 Conference Championship.