Kemp 2-for-3 on afternoon

OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. (May 13, 2011) – Sophomore shortstop Dan Kemp (Sturbridge, Mass.) hit 2-for-3, drove in a run and scored another on Friday afternoon, but the No. 15/22 nationally ranked and second-seeded Franklin Pierce University baseball team lost, 8-5, to second-seeded, host and No. 26 Adelphi on the first day of the Northeast-10 Conference Baseball Championship at Jackie Robinson Athletic Complex. Junior second baseman Craig Matteo went 2-for-3 and scored twice in the win for Adelphi.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 36-12 and will face elimination at 7 p.m. Friday against the loser of this afternoon's game between first-seeded Southern Connecticut State and fourth-seeded Massachusetts Lowell. With the win, Adelphi improves to 32-12-2 and will take on the winner of that SCSU/UML game at noon on Saturday.

The Ravens opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first inning. Junior second baseman Dan Hennigan (Downingtown, Pa.) led off the game with a single to right field, took second on a passed ball and went to third on a groundout before scoring when freshman first baseman Zach Mathieu (Derry, N.H.) dumped an RBI single the other way into right-center field.

Franklin Pierce added a run in the top of the second to push the lead to 2-0. Senior right fielder Mike Munoz (Bronx, N.Y.) led off and dropped a single into right-center. Junior third baseman Isaac Wenrich (Westlawn, Pa.) followed and, after a lengthy at-bat where he fouled off multiple 1-2 pitches, flared a single into shallow center. After a sacrifice bunt by freshman center fielder Ross Lincoln (Woodstock, Conn.) moved the runners to second and third, sophomore shortstop Dan Kemp (Sturbridge, Mass.) dropped down a safety squeeze to score Munoz.

Adelphi picked up a run in the home half of the second to cut the lead to 2-1. Sophomore first baseman Anthony Zarrella started things he clubbed a one-out triple into the gap in left-center field. Freshman third baseman Richard Mejia followed and chopped a ball to third. Zarrella broke for the plate on contact and Wenrich chose to throw home. However, the throw was in the dirt, which allowed the run to score while Mejia reached on the fielder's choice.

The Panthers picked up another in the bottom of the third to tie the game at 2-2. Graduate student right fielder Omar Velazquez worked a lead-off walk and then went first-to-third when junior second baseman Craig Matteo pushed a sacrifice bunt to Wenrich and nobody covered third for Franklin Pierce defensively. Velazquez would score two batters later on an RBI infield single deep in the hole at shortstop by junior left fielder Justin Farnum.

The game would remain tied until the top of the fifth, when Franklin Pierce scored twice to take a 4-2 lead. Kemp led off the inning, went the other way to hit a double off the fence just inside the right-field line and moved over to third as Hennigan bounced a single through the left side of the infield. Both runners would score when senior designated hitter Derek Ingui (Sterling, Mass.) followed and hammered a two-run double to the warning track in the gap in right-center.

Adelphi responded immediately with five runs in the bottom of the fifth to jump to a 7-4 lead. Senior catcher Richard McCarren had the big blow of the inning when he slugged a two-run triple into the gap in right-center. Also in the inning, junior left fielder Justin Farnum hit an RBI double and both Mejia and senior center fielder Trevor Thorstensen drove home runs with singles.

The Panthers added a run in the bottom of the sixth to push the lead to 8-4. Matteo opened the frame with a walk and moved to second when McCarren was hit by a pitch. After a ground ball moved the runners to second and third, senior catcher T.J. Humrich lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to drive home Matteo.

Franklin Pierce chipped away with a run in the top of the seventh to pull within three at 8-5, but would not get any closer. Ingui led off the inning and hit a ball through the third baseman to reach at second on an error. He would score when junior catcher Mike Dowd (East Bridgewater, Mass.) followed and pulled an RBI double down the left-field line.

Senior left-hander Brian Maloney (Brockton, Mass.) started and suffered the loss (7-4) on the mound for Franklin Pierce. Over four-plus innings, he allowed six runs (five earned) on seven hits, walked one and struck out three.

Senior right-hander Robert Nixon took the ball, went the distance and picked up the win (10-1) on the hill for Adelphi. He surrendered five runs (four earned) on 11 hits, did not issue a walk and struck out six.

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).