Thompson fans nine

MANCHESTER, N.H. (April 15, 2011) – Junior center fielder Juan Amador keyed a four-run bottom of the second inning with a two-run double on Friday afternoon to lead Southern New Hampshire to a 4-2 win over the No. 13/19 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team in Northeast-10 Conference play at Penmen Field. Junior right-hander Ryan Thompson (Calgary, Alberta) struck out nine in defeat for Franklin Pierce, which went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position over the final three innings.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 26-7 (12-3 Northeast-10), while Southern New Hampshire improves to 16-15 (4-7 Northeast-10). Franklin Pierce drops back to a half-game behind Southern Connecticut State at the top of the conference standings. The teams had been tied after SCSU dropped a 10-inning decision at home to New Haven on Thursday. SCSU visits Stonehill for a doubleheader on Saturday.

SNHU did all its damage on the afternoon with four runs in the bottom of the second inning, which was as many runs as Thompson had allowed the entire season prior to Friday. With one out, sophomore shortstop Matt Boulter and senior first baseman Robert Wronski poked back-to-back singles to right field. After a walk to sophomore third baseman Jon Massad loaded the bases, junior catcher Kevin Spatkowski lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to score Boulter. That left runners at first and second for Amador, who slugged a ball deep into the gap in right-center field for a two-run triple. Amador, in turn, scored on an RBI single to right-center by senior designated hitter Tim Rines.

Meanwhile, SNHU starting right-hander Garrett Jewell befuddled the Ravens bats for a majority of the game. Through the first six innings, he allowed only five baserunners on three singles, a hit batter and an error behind him, and didn't allow more than one man to reach base in an inning. Jewell got two batters to ground into double plays immediately after singles and was fortunate to get a line-drive double play as well, as he faced only two batters over the minimum through the first six innings.

Franklin Pierce would have its chances to draw even though. Over the game's final three innings, the Ravens had 10 at-bats with runners in scoring position, but struck out five times and picked up just one hit while cashing in two runs, one of which was unearned. After leaving two runners on base over the first six innings, Franklin Pierce stranded seven men, including five in scoring position, from the seventh inning on.

In the seventh, junior catcher Mike Dowd (East Bridgewater, Mass.) led off with a single to right field and moved to second when senior designated hitter Derek Ingui (Sterling, Mass.) legged out an infield single. Freshman first baseman Zach Mathieu (Derry, N.H.) followed and hit a grounder to Boulter at shortstop, but reached on a throwing error which allowed Dowd to score and Ingui to move to third, leaving runners at first and third with nobody out. However, Jewell struck out sophomore left fielder Nick LaCroix (Grafton, Mass.), sophomore shortstop Dan Kemp (Sturbridge, Mass.) and junior third baseman Isaac Wenrich (Westlawn, Pa.) in succession to end the inning.

In the eighth, freshman center fielder Ross Lincoln (Woodstock, Conn.) led off with an infield single and moved to second on a single to left by junior second baseman Dan Hennigan (Downingtown, Pa.) before a balk put the runners at second and third with nobody out. Again though, the Ravens struggled to put the ball in play, as senior right fielder Mike Munoz (Bronx, N.Y.) struck out, Dowd grounded out to third and Ingui struck out to end the inning without bringing home a run.

Finally, in the ninth, LaCroix singled to left-center, Kemp singled through the left side and Wenrich singled back up the middle in succession to load the bases with one out for Lincoln, who hit a groundball that saw Wenrich erased at second, but drove in a run on the fielder's choice to put runners at the corners with two outs. Hennigan was hit by a pitch to load the bases and move the tying run into scoring position, but Munoz flew out to left field to end the ballgame.

Thompson started on the mound and suffered his first loss of the season (7-1). Over seven innings of work, he allowed four runs on seven hits, walked one and struck out nine. Despite all the runs being earned, he had only allowed two earned runs (and four total) previously this season, allowing his earned-run average to remain under a run at 0.98.

Jewell fired eight innings to pick up the win (2-2) on the rubber for Southern New Hampshire. He allowed just one unearned run on seven hits, did not issue a walk, hit a batter and struck out 10. After freshman right-hander Alex Powers allowed a run and loaded the bases in the ninth, fellow freshman right-hander Junior Mendez came in and retired the only batter he faced to pick up his first career save.

The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, April 16, when they return home to host Pace in a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for noon at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field in Rindge.

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).