Munoz drives home three

Box Score

RINDGE, N.H. (April 14, 2010) – Junior left fielder Mike Munoz (Bronx, N.Y.) hit 3-for-4, drove home three runs and scored once on Wednesday afternoon to lead the No. 29 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team to a 5-3 victory over Southern New Hampshire in Northeast-10 Conference play at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field. The game was tied 3-3 midway through, before Franklin Pierce scored a single run in each the sixth and seventh innings to pull out the victory.

With the victory, Franklin Pierce improves to 23-10 (11-4 Northeast-10), while Southern New Hampshire falls to 13-18 (6-8 Northeast-10) with the loss.

Franklin Pierce opened the scoring with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Senior second baseman Cody Kauffman (Blue Bell, Pa.) led off with a single through the left side of the infield and scored when sophomore catcher Mike Dowd (East Bridgewater, Mass.) clubbed a double into left-center that hopped over the head of the left fielder. After a sacrifice bunt by junior third baseman Derek Ingui (Sterling, Mass.) moved Dowd to third, Munoz brought home the inning's second run with an RBI groundout to first base.

Southern New Hampshire answered with a run of its own in the top of the second inning. Freshman left fielder Brandon Dutch led off, reached on an error, stole second and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. Two batters later, he came in to score on a wild pitch.

Franklin Pierce pushed the lead back to two runs at 3-1 with a run in the bottom of the third inning. Kauffman started things again, this time to center field. Dowd followed and lifted a towering fly ball to left field that fell between the onrushing left fielder and the retreating shortstop for a single. However, with Ingui at the plate, Dowd was picked off of first by the catcher, but advanced to second while Kauffman was thrown out at third. After a groundout moved Dowd to third, Munoz drove home his second run of the game with a single through the left side of the infield.

Southern New Hampshire would answer with two runs in the top of the fourth inning to tie the game at 3-3. Junior shortstop Tim Rines led off with a double off the fence in left field and Dutch followed with a single into left-center to put runners at the corners. That brought sophomore catcher Kevin Spatkowski to the plate and he clubbed a two-run triple into the gap in left-center.

Franklin Pierce reclaimed the lead at 4-3 with a run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Munoz led off with a single back through the middle and moved to second when the pitcher threw away a pickoff attempt. Munoz later moved to third on a groundout and scored on a line-drive single to left by freshman center fielder Nick LaCroix (Grafton, Mass.).

The Ravens picked up an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh to push the lead to 5-3. Kauffman started things once more, this time by pulling a double down the left-field line. He would move to third on a groundout and score on Munoz's third RBI of the day, this one coming via an infield single behind the bag at second.

From there, freshman right-hander Rob Blanc (Sandy Hook, Conn.) worked a perfect eighth with two strikeouts and junior right-hander Rob Nicholas (Southborough, Mass.) struck out two in a perfect ninth to finish off the game for Franklin Pierce.

Junior right-hander Jose Macias (Bronx, N.Y.) started on the mound and picked up the win (5-0) for Franklin Pierce. Over seven innings, he allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits, walked one, threw a pair of wild pitches and struck out nine. Nicholas notched his seventh save of the season when he finished off the game.

Senior left-hander Steven Galbranson toed the rubber and took the loss (3-3) for Southern New Hampshire. In six innings of work, he allowed four runs on 10 hits, did not issue a walk and did not strike out a batter.

The Ravens return to the field on Thursday, April 15, when they remain home to host Concordia in a non-conference contest. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Pappas Field.