Ravens visit Saint Michael's for three to wrap up regular season

RINDGE, N.H. (May 2, 2012) – The pitching staff of the No. 15/18 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team issued 11 walks and hit two batters to allow 10 unanswered runs on Wednesday night, as the team dropped a 10-5 decision to Saint Anselm in Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division play at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field. Senior right fielder Daniel Decoste hit a grand slam in an eight-run eighth inning for Saint Anselm.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 31-14-1 (18-6-1 Northeast-10, 12-5-1 Northeast Division), while Saint Anselm improves to 26-21 (18-10-1 Northeast-10, 14-6-1 Northeast Division). The Ravens retain control of first place in the Northeast Division, and can still win the Division title without any help with three wins at Saint Michael's in the final series of the regular season. Franklin Pierce visits the Purple Knights for one game at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday and a noon doubleheader on Saturday. All three games will take place at Doc Jacobs Field in Colchester, Vt.

The Ravens opened the scoring with four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Senior second baseman Dan Hennigan (Downingtown, Pa.) led off the inning with a line-drive single to right, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored when graduate student center fielder James Roche (Arlington, Mass.) smoked a double into the gap in left-center. Sophomore first baseman Zach Mathieu (Derry, N.H.) worked a walk to put two runners on, and junior right fielder Nick LaCroix (Grafton, Mass.) poked a single through the right side of the infield to load the bases. Both Roche and Mathieu would score on a two-run single lined back up the middle by freshman catcher Matt Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.), and LaCroix scored on an RBI groundout to the right side by senior designated hitter Isaac Wenrich (Westlawn, Pa.).

Franklin Pierce picked up another run in the bottom of the third to push the lead to 5-0. With one out, LaCroix looped a single into shallow left field and took second on a wild pitch. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases and meant the end of the day for senior right-hander Neil Hesek, who left in favor of fellow senior right-hander Timothy Cooney. Junior third baseman Anthony Peguero (Jamaica Plain, Mass.) greeted Cooney with a sacrifice fly to center to drive home LaCroix.

Saint Anselm got on the board with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth to trim the lead to 5-2. With one out, Decoste worked a walk and came all the way around from first to score when sophomore left fielder Dan Lagasse drove an RBI double into the gap in right-center. Lagasse moved to third on a flyball to right field and later scored on a balk.

The Hawks turned the tide of the game in the top of the eighth inning, when they scored eight runs on just two hits, with the aid of four walks and a hit batter by Franklin Pierce pitching, to take a 10-5 lead that would turn into the final score. Decoste had the big blow of the inning after Saint Anselm had already taken a 6-5 lead, when he clubbed a grand slam deep into the Rindge night beyond the left-field fence for his fifth home run of the season. Senior third baseman Jeffrey Criscuolo had the only other RBI of the inning with a run-scoring infield single, while other runs scored on a passed ball, a hit batsman and a walk.

Junior left-hander Vladimir Camacho (Jamaica Plain, Mass.) started and did not factor in the decision on the mound for Franklin Pierce. Over 7.1 innings of work, he allowed five runs on four hits, walked seven, hit a batter, balked once, threw a wild pitch and struck out five. Sophomore right-hander Kevin McGowan (Nashua, N.H.) took the loss (5-2) out of the bullpen for the Ravens. He retired just one of the four batters he faced and was ultimately charged with three runs on one hit while walking one, hitting a batter and striking out one.

Hesek started and was ineffective, though he was eventually taken off the hook by the Saint Anselm lineup. Over 2.1 innings, he allowed five runs on six hits, walked three and threw a wild pitch. Cooney stopped the bleeding and went the rest of the way to pick up the win (3-1) for the Hawks. Over 6.2 shutout innings of relief, he allowed four hits, walked one and struck out seven.

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).