Maloney tosses complete game, strikes out 17

RINDGE, N.H. (March 22, 2011) – Senior left-hander Brian Maloney (Brockton, Mass.) set a new program record for career strikeouts and senior designated hitter Derek Ingui (Sterling, Mass.) set a new program record for career hits on Tuesday afternoon as the No. 14/23 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team posted a 2-1 victory over Saint Anselm in the Northeast-10 Conference opener for both teams at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field. Maloney went the distance on the mound and recorded a career-high 17 strikeouts to pick up the win for Franklin Pierce.

With the victory, Franklin Pierce improves to 15-4 (1-0 Northeast-10), while Saint Anselm falls to 8-8 (0-1 Northeast-10).

Maloney entered the game four strikeouts behind the program record of 261, established last year by Mike Adams. He struck out the side in order in the first and in the second, after a lead-off single, struck out the next two batters to tie and break the record, respectively. The 17 strikeouts pushed Maloney's career total to 274 by the end of the day. He recorded 10 of his strikeouts against the top third of the Saint Anselm lineup, as each of the three struck out at least three times.

Ingui entered the game tied with Vinny Pennell for the program's career record in hits with 250. Ingui made the record his own when he led off the second inning with a double off the fence right-center field gap.

The Ravens opened the scoring with a run in that bottom of the second inning. After the lead-off double, Ingui moved to third on a flyout to right by freshman first baseman Zach Mathieu (Derry, N.H.) and scored when sophomore center fielder Nick LaCroix (Grafton, Mass.) followed and lifted a sacrifice fly to left field.

Franklin Pierce added a run in the bottom of the third to push the lead to 2-0. With one out, senior right fielder Mike Munoz (Bronx, N.Y.) grounded a single back through the middle of the diamond and moved to second on a single through the right side of the infield by junior catcher Mike Dowd (East Bridgewater, Mass.). After Ingui was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Mathieu pulled and RBI single through the left side to plate Munoz.

Saint Anselm got a run in the top of the sixth to cut the lead in half at 2-1. Senior right fielder James Garrigan led off the frame with a double into the gap in right-center, moved to third on a balk and scored on a sacrifice fly to center by senior catcher Matt Sucharewicz.

The Hawks would threaten to tie the game in the top of the ninth, but ultimately came up empty. Sucharewicz worked a one-out walk and was lifted from the game for sophomore pinch runner Andrew Chandler. After Maloney got the next batter to fly out to right field, Chandler stole second, but was left in scoring position as senior center fielder T.J. Murphy grounded out to shortstop to end the game.

Maloney was nothing short of electric on the mound, as he scattered four hits over the complete game to pick up the win (4-1). He walked one, hit a batter and recorded the 17 strikeouts, which bettered his previous career high of 16, set in the season opener on Feb. 26 against Dominican. It was the fourth time in five starts this season that Maloney struck out 10 or more batters.

Junior right-hander Neil Hesek took the hill for Saint Anselm, threw 6.2 innings and took the loss (0-3). He allowed two runs on eight hits, walked three (one intentionally), hit a batter and struck out four.

The Ravens return to the field on Thursday, March 24, when they make the return trip to Saint Anselm for a Northeast-10 contest. First pitch is currently scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at Sullivan Park in Manchester, N.H. Franklin Pierce next plays at home on Saturday, March 26, when they host Saint Rose in a doubleheader starting at noon.

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).