Thompson strikes out 12 in second game

Box Score: Game One
Box Score: Game Two 

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (March 17, 2011) – Sophomore right-hander Ryan Thompson (Fort McMurray, Alberta) struck out 12 batters over six-plus innings in the second game on Thursday afternoon to lead the No. 8/10 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team to a 3-2 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas in neutral-site, non-conference play at NSU Baseball Complex. In the first game of the day, St. Thomas Aquinas freshman right-hander Robert Frank allowed just one hit and struck out seven over 7.2 shutout innings as the Spartans defeated Franklin Pierce, 1-0.

With the split, Franklin Pierce moves to 11-3 (0-0 Northeast-10), while St. Thomas Aquinas is now 6-7-1 (0-0 East Coast).

Playing as the visiting team, St. Thomas Aquinas struck for the only run of the first game in the top of the sixth inning. Sophomore center fielder Nicholas Barbalato led off with a single and moved to second when senior shortstop Andrew Ahn followed with a single later in the inning. A pair of wild pitches later in the inning moved Barbalato to third and then allowed him to score.

Both starting pitchers allowed very little offense by the opposition in the contest. For Franklin Pierce, senior left-hander Brian Maloney (Brockton, Mass.) took the ball and racked up eight strikeouts over 7.1 innings. He allowed just one run on five hits and three walks, but was saddled with his first loss of the season (3-1). It was the first start in which Maloney did not record at least 10 strikeouts, though the eight ran his career total to 257, just four behind the program record held by Mike Adams.

Meanwhile, Frank took the hill for St. Thomas Aquinas and tossed 7.2 shutout innings on his way to the win. He did walk six to go with his seven strikeouts, but allowed only one hit to the Raven lineup, an eighth-inning single by junior catcher Mike Dowd (East Bridgewater, Mass.). Senior right-hander Mark Fochesato retired the final four batters of the game in order to pick up the save.

Thompson was nothing short of sparkling in the second game, which was a seven-inning affair. He racked up 12 strikeouts over six-plus innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits and a walk on his way to the win (4-0).Beginning with the first batter of the third inning, Thompson struck out eight batters in a row and recorded nine consecutive outs by way of the strikeout, allowing just a fifth-inning single in the midst of the run.

Offensively, Franklin Pierce, playing as the visiting team, opened the scoring with a pair of runs in the top of the third inning. Sophomore shortstop Dan Kemp (Sturbridge, Mass.) led off the inning with a single, stole second and moved to third on a passed ball before junior first baseman Isaac Wenrich (Westlawn, Pa.) brought him home with an RBI groundout to third.

The Ravens would pick up two more runs in the top of the fifth inning to push the lead to 3-0. Kemp started things with a single again, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and went over to third while Wenrich reached on an error. Kemp scored when Dowd followed with an RBI single which also moved Wenrich around to third. Wenrich, in turn, would score on a sacrifice fly to right field by senior designated hitter Derek Ingui (Sterling, Mass.).

St. Thomas Aquinas cut the lead to 3-1 with a run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Barbalato started things with a two-out single and then took second on a wild pitch. He wound up on third on the play on a throwing error by Dowd. Two batters later, Barbalato would score on an RBI single by graduate student second baseman Mike Walraven.

The Spartans would pick up another run in the bottom of the seventh and threatened to tie the game, but ultimately came up short. Senior catcher Fred Moore led off with a single and was replaced by sophomore pinch runner Joe DePool, who moved to second when sophomore infielder Mike Apreda followed with a single which chased Thompson from the game.

Senior right-hander Rob Nicholas (Southborough, Mass.) came in from the bullpen and immediately threw water on the fire by picking DePool off of second base. Junior left fielder Ryan Spicer came to the plate as the tying run and reached at second base on an error which moved Apreda around to third. Senior third baseman Dan McDermott followed with an RBI groundout to shortstop to cut the lead to 3-2, but Nicholas closed the door by getting sophomore right fielder Frank Salerno to ground out to second. It was the second save of the season for Nicholas, as well as his second in as many days.

Senior right-hander Sean Marsiglia took the ball, threw all seven innings and took the loss on the mound for St. Thomas Aquinas. He allowed three runs (one earned) on six hits, walked one, struck out one.

The Ravens return to the field on Friday, March 18, when they take on Molloy in a neutral-site, non-conference doubleheader. First pitch of the twinbill is scheduled for 11 a.m. at McCusker Sports Complex on the campus of Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics).