Maloney Takes Control, Shuts Out Massachusetts Lowell, 3-0, as No. 15/25 Baseball Avoids Elimination at NCAA Championship East Regional
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Franklin Pierce | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
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Massachusetts Lowell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
Senior allows five hits, fans nine
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Maloney fired a five-hit shutout against Massachusetts Lowell to keep the Ravens alive in the East Regional on Saturday afternoon.RINDGE, N.H. (May 21, 2011) – Senior left-hander Brian Maloney (Brockton, Mass.) fired a five-hit shutout and struck out nine on Saturday afternoon as the No. 15/25 nationally ranked and second-seeded Franklin Pierce University baseball team fought off elimination with a 3-0 victory over fifth-seeded Massachusetts Lowell on the third day of the NCAA Championship East Regional, hosted by Franklin Pierce at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field. Freshman third baseman Josh Rouse (Milford, Conn.) hit a double and scored twice in the win for Franklin Pierce.
With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 40-13 and will face elimination again beginning at 7:45 p.m. Saturday against fourth-seeded Southern Connecticut State. It is the second straight year Franklin Pierce has won 40 games, as well as the fifth time in program history, all in the last six years. With the loss, Massachusetts Lowell's season draws to a close at 37-14.
Franklin Pierce opened the scoring with a run in the top of the second inning. Junior catcher Mike Dowd (East Bridgewater, Mass.) led off the frame, was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. After moving to second on a groundout, Dowd scored on an RBI bunt single up the third-base line by sophomore shortstop Dan Kemp (Sturbridge, Mass.).
The Ravens doubled the lead to 2-0 with a run in the bottom of the fifth. Rouse started the inning and was hit by a pitch as well. He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored when junior second baseman Dan Hennigan (Downingtown, Pa.) followed and pulled double over the head of the third baseman and down the left-field line.
Franklin Pierce tacked on another run in the top of the seventh to create the 3-0 final. Rouse led off the inning again, this time by pulling a double down the left-field line. Rouse moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and later scored on a wild pitch.
Maloney took the ball and went the distance to pick up the win (8-4) on the mound for Franklin Pierce with his first shutout of the season. He allowed five hits, walked one and struck out nine.
Sophomore right-hander Taylor Robinson started and took the loss (7-3) on the hill for Massachusetts Lowell. Over 8.1 innings, he allowed three runs on seven hits, walked three, hit three batters, threw a pair of wild pitches and struck out four.
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).