Junior southpaw strikes out nine

Box Score

WEST HAVEN, Conn. (May 14, 2010) – Junior left-hander Brian Maloney (Brockton, Mass.) threw a one-hit shutout and struck out nine on Friday night to lead the No. 22/24 nationally ranked and second-seeded Franklin Pierce University baseball team to a 6-0 victory over fourth-seeded Stonehill on the second day of the NCAA Championship East Regional, hosted by Southern Connecticut State at historic Yale Field. Senior right fielder Phil Hendricks (Pittsfield, Maine) had a three-run double as part of a five-run seventh inning for Franklin Pierce.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 38-14-1 and will play top-seeded Southern Connecticut State in a winners' bracket game at 11 a.m. Saturday, with the winner moving to Sunday's championship round. With the loss, Stonehill falls to 30-17 and will face elimination at 3 p.m. Saturday against fifth-seeded C.W. Post.

Maloney was the story on the mound throughout the evening, as he allowed just five base runners on one hit, three walks and one error while striking out nine to pick up the win (4-4). The only offensive blemish against him was a single back through the middle by senior right fielder Shane Franz in the fifth. In that bottom of the fifth inning, the Skyhawks loaded the bases with a walk, the single and an error, before Maloney worked out of danger in what was a 1-0 game at the time. He struck out both senior center fielder Rob Von Stein and junior shortstop Brenden Shepard before getting senior second baseman Mitch Davis to pop up to shortstop to end the inning.

Meanwhile, Franklin Pierce scored the only run it would need in the top of the first inning. Sophomore catcher Mike Dowd (East Bridgewater, Mass.) drove a one-out double into the gap in left-center field, took third on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI single off the foot of the pitcher by junior left fielder Mike Munoz (Bronx, N.Y.).

The game would remain 1-0 until the top of the seventh, when the Ravens plated five runs to break the game open and create the 6-0 final. Early in the inning, sophomore first baseman Isaac Wenrich (Westlawn, Pa.) led off with a single and eventually scored on a wild pitch, while Munoz drove in his second run of the day with a single to center. Munoz's single also kept the bases loaded with one out and chased Stonehill starting right-hander, junior Alex McCormick, from the mound in favor of junior right-hander Dan Corrigan. Corrigan was greeted by Hendricks, who clubbed a bases-clearing, three-run double into the gap in left-center to extend the Franklin Pierce lead to 6-0.

McCormick took the loss (6-4) on the mound for Stonehill. Over 6.2 innings, he allowed six runs on eight hits, walked three and struck out five.