Chance at Northeast Division title goes by the boards

COLCHESTER, Vt. (May 3, 2012) – Sophomore second baseman Tyler Wild poked a two-run double down the right-field line in the bottom of the eighth inning on Thursday afternoon to give Saint Michael's a 4-3 lead on the way to a 5-3 victory over the No. 15/18 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team in Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division play at Doc Jacobs Field. Graduate student center fielder James Roche (Arlington, Mass.) hit a two-run home run in defeat for the Ravens.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 31-15-1 (18-7-1 Northeast-10, 12-6-1 Northeast Division) and misses out on its chance to claim the Northeast Division title and top seed in the upcoming Northeast-10 Championship. With the victory, Saint Michael's improves to 11-27 (7-20 Northeast-10, 4-15 Northeast Division). The win was the first for Saint Michael's in 14 all-time meetings between the two schools, though they once played to a 1-1 tie in 2000.

The Ravens now need some combination of two victories and/or Bentley losses this weekend to clinch home-field advantage for the first round of the Northeast-10 Championship. Franklin Pierce plays at Saint Michael's again in a noon doubleheader on Saturday, while Bentley will host Massachusetts Lowell twice on Saturday and once on Sunday.

Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Saint Michael's rallied for the lead before Franklin Pierce could record an out in the frame. Sophomore designated hitter Chris Puliafico opened the inning with a lead-off walk and was lifted for junior pinch runner Jacob Begnoche, who would move to second on a single to right field by senior catcher Chadwick Estey before a single to center by senior third baseman Bryan Geary loaded the bases. Wild followed and knocked a double down the right-field line, turning the 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead, and freshman shortstop Don McGuirl lifted a sacrifice fly to center to drive home Geary and create the 5-3 final.

All three scoring innings in the game for Saint Michael's began with lead-off walks issued by Franklin Pierce pitching.

Earlier, the Ravens opened the scoring immediately with three runs in the top of the first inning, though it would turn out to be the team's only offense on the day. Senior second baseman Dan Hennigan (Downingtown, Pa.) led off with a single to center, stole second and moved to third on a flyout to center field. Roche then cranked his team-leading 12th home run of the season to left field to stake Franklin Pierce to a 2-0 lead. Two batters later, junior right fielder Nick LaCroix (Grafton, Mass.) hit a solo home run, also to left field, his fourth of the season.

Saint Michael's picked up single runs in the bottom of the third and fourth innings to cut the lead to 3-2 and set the stage for Wild's eighth-inning heroics. In the third, senior center fielder Tim McDonnell worked a lead-off walk, went first-to-third on a single through the right side of the infield by sophomore right fielder Nick Nelson and eventually scored on a double-play ball. In the fourth, Estey worked a lead-off walk, went to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored two batters later on an RBI single to center by McGuirl.

Graduate student right-hander Jack Crawford (Montgomery, N.Y.) started and did not factor in the decision for Franklin Pierce. Over five-plus innings, he surrendered two runs on seven hits, walked three, hit a batter and struck out six. Sophomore right-hander Ryan Leach (Farmingdale, Maine) suffered the loss (6-2) out of the bullpen for the Ravens. Over the final three innings, he was touched for three runs on four hits, walked one, threw two wild pitches and struck out two.

Freshman right-hander Will Corkum went the distance to pick up the win (3-4) for Saint Michael's. He allowed three runs on eight hits, walked one, hit a batter and struck out one. After allowing three runs on four hits in the first inning, Corkum surrendered only four more hits over the remainder of the afternoon.

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).