Freshman goes 3-for-4 with pair of doubles; Ingui 2-for-4, two runs, two RBIs

OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. (May 14, 2011) – Freshman first baseman Zach Mathieu (Derry, N.H.) hit an RBI single in the top of the seventh to score junior second baseman Dan Hennigan (Downingtown, Pa.) with the eventual game-winning run on Saturday afternoon, as the third-seeded and No. 15/22 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team posted a 7-6 win over top-seeded and No. 8/11 Southern Connecticut State in an elimination game on the second day of the Northeast-10 Conference Baseball Championship, hosted by Adelphi at Jackie Robinson Athletic Complex on the campus of SUNY Old Westbury. Hennigan went 3-for-5 and scored three times in the game.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 38-12 and advances to the championship round, where it will meet second-seeded Adelphi at noon on Sunday. The Ravens will have to defeat Adelphi twice to capture a record-tying fifth Northeast-10 Championship. With the loss, Southern Connecticut State falls to 38-6-1 and is eliminated.

The Ravens opened the scoring immediately out of the gate with two unearned runs in the top of the first inning after Hennigan opened the game with a single to center field. Senior designated hitter Derek Ingui (Sterling, Mass.) followed and pushed a single to right, but ended up on third while Hennigan came all the way around to score as the ball was misplayed by SCSU junior right fielder Bryan Dorsey. Ingui would score when junior catcher Mike Dowd (East Bridgewater, Mass.) lifted a sacrifice fly to center field.

SCSU answered right away with three runs of its own in the bottom of the first to jump to a 3-2 lead. Junior shortstop Kyle Cummings opened the frame with a walk and moved to second on a single to left by senior catcher Nick DeProspo before a sacrifice bunt put runners at second and third with one out. Two batters after an intentional walk to junior first baseman Ryan Geffert loaded the bases, Dorsey atoned for his error by clubbing a bases-clearing double to center field to drive home all three runs.

The Owls added a run in the bottom of the second to double the lead to 4-2. Once again, things started with a lead-off walk, this one to sophomore center fielder Michael Cleary, who stole second and later moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. DeProspo converted the one-out opportunity by hitting a sacrifice fly to center to drive home the run.

Offense continued to be the theme early in the game, as Franklin Pierce responded with four runs in the top of the third to jump out front, 6-4. Freshman third baseman Josh Rouse (Milford, Conn.) started the inning by getting hit by a pitch and moved to third when Hennigan followed with a double to right field. Ingui picked up a pair of RBIs to tie the game with a single to left field and wound up at third on the play after an error by SCSU senior left fielder Kyle Rosadino. Dowd followed and flew out to shallow right field, with Ingui bluffing as if he would attempt to tag up and score from third. However, DeProspo mishandled the throw to the plate, allowing Ingui to score on the error. From there, Mathieu got things started again with a double to right field. Behind him was sophomore left fielder Nick LaCroix (Grafton, Mass.) who slugged a double of his own to left to plate the fourth run of the inning.

SCSU was held off the board in the third, but would pick up two runs in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at 6-6. Cleary started the inning again, this time with a double to left field. He would score when freshman designated hitter T.J. Shea followed with a single to right field and wound up on second due to an error by Dowd behind the plate. Shea would eventually score from third to tie the game on an RBI groundout by Cummings.

From there, the bats would fall silent for much of the later innings. The only run scored after the fourth was in the top of the seventh, when Franklin Pierce struck for the eventual winning run. Hennigan led off the inning against the SCSU bullpen and legged out an infield single. He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ingui, went to third on a groundout and scored on an RBI single to right-center field by Mathieu. Mathieu has driven home the game-winning run in each of Franklin Pierce's three victories in the Northeast-10 Championship.

Freshman left-hander Steve Hathaway (Acton, Mass.) threw a complete game to pick up the win (6-2) on the mound for Franklin Pierce. He allowed six runs (five earned) on eight hits, walked four (one intentionally) and struck out five.

Sophomore left-hander Steve Landell started on the hill and did not factor in the decision for Southern Connecticut State. Over six innings, he surrendered six runs (three earned) on eight hits, did not issue a walk, hit a batter and struck out two. Junior right-hander Ryan Yerina took the loss (1-1) out of the bullpen for the Owls. Over two innings (the sixth and seventh), he allowed one run on two hits and struck out one.

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).