Ravens advance to Sunday's championship round

MANCHESTER, N.H. (May 12, 2012) – Graduate student center fielder James Roche (Arlington, Mass.) clubbed his 15th and 16th home runs of the campaign, to tie and then break the school record for home runs in a season, on Saturday afternoon to lead the No. 14/26 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team, seeded second in the Northeast Division, to a 12-8 win over host Saint Anselm, the top seed in the Northeast, on the second day of the Northeast-10 Conference Baseball Championship at Sullivan Park. Roche went 4-for-6, scored three times and drove in five runs in the victory.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 36-15-1 and advances to Sunday's championship round, which is currently scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. at Sullivan Park. However, due to the length of Saturday's first game, note that schedule alterations may prove necessary if Saturday's second game cannot be completed before darkness sets in at Sullivan Park. With a victory tomorrow, Franklin Pierce would wrap up its first Northeast-10 title since 2009 and the fifth championship in program history, tying the Conference record.

With the loss, Saint Anselm falls to 28-22-2 and will face elimination in Saturday's second game against Le Moyne (37-13-1). The winner of the Saint Anselm/Le Moyne contest would have to defeat the Ravens twice to claim the title.

The 12 runs was the most for Franklin Pierce in the Northeast-10 Championship since a 25-6 win over Assumption in the championship round of the 2009 event. As a team, the Ravens stole a season-high 13 bases and were not caught stealing once. It was the most stolen bases by the team since the 2010 season-opener against Nyack on March 5, when the Ravens also stole 13 bases.

Franklin Pierce opened the scoring right out of the gate with a run in the top of the first inning. With two outs, Roche worked the count full and, on the 10th pitch of the at-bat, drove his team-leading 15th home run of the season to center field. With the blast, he tied Mal Higgins for the school record for home runs in a season, as Higgins hit 15 in 2001. However, the 2001 campaign was before the Northeast-10 switched to wood bats.

The Ravens pushed the lead to 3-0 with a pair of runs in the top of the second. Junior right fielder Nick LaCroix (Grafton, Mass.) worked a lead-off walk, stole second, moved to third on a flyout and scored on an RBI groundout by senior designated hitter Isaac Wenrich (Westlawn, Pa.). With two outs and nobody on, junior third baseman Anthony Peguero (Hyde Park, Mass.) reached with an infield single, stole second and scored on an RBI single into center by sophomore left fielder Calvin Graves (Boston, Mass.).

Franklin Pierce made it 4-0 with another run in the top of the third inning. With one out, Roche singled to center, went first-to-third on a single to center by sophomore first baseman Zach Mathieu (Derry, N.H.) and scored on a sacrifice fly to right by LaCroix.

Saint Anselm cut the lead in half to 4-2 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth. Junior Robert Kelly, who started on the mound but was the designated hitter by this point, worked a lead-off walk, but was erased at second as senior right fielder Dan DeCoste reached on a fielder's choice. DeCoste moved around to third on a double to right by sophomore left fielder Dan Lagasse and scored on a sacrifice fly to center by freshman first baseman Mike Hayden. Lagasse would score two batters later on an RBI single to left-center by senior third baseman Jeff Criscuolo.

The Ravens immediately reclaimed the four-run lead at 6-2, as they replied with two runs in the top of the fifth. With one out, LaCroix singled back through the middle of the infield and moved to second on a single into left-center by freshman catcher Matt Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.). A double steal put both runners in scoring position, and they both scored two batters later on a single to center by Peguero.

Saint Anselm got a run back in the home half of the fifth to make it a 6-3 game. Sophomore shortstop Tito Lluberes led off with a single to right, stole second, went to third on a single down the right-field line by junior second baseman Richie Manzi and scored on an RBI single back up the middle by DeCoste.

Three runs for Franklin Pierce in the top of the sixth stretched the lead to 9-3. Hennigan worked a walk to start the inning and went to second on an infield single by junior shortstop Dan Kemp (Sturbridge, Mass.). Roche followed and beat out a bunt single. Hennigan rounded third, broke for home and scored on the play, while Kemp and Roche wound up on third and second, respectively, on the throw to the plate. After a walk to Mathieu loaded the bases, a sacrifice fly to left by LaCroix scored Kemp. After a double steal and a walk loaded the bases, Roche was erased at home on a fielder's choice, and then Peguero worked a walk to force home Mathieu.

The Ravens appeared to break the game open with three more runs in the top of the seventh to extend the lead as high as 12-3. After a walk to Hennigan and an infield single by Kemp, Roche mashed his second home run of the day, this one a three-run shot to left-center. The home run gave Roche his fourth multiple-home run game of the season and his second of the Northeast-10 Championship, while also giving him sole possession of the school record for home runs in a season.

Saint Anselm responded with four runs in the home half of the seventh to close the gap to 12-7. With one out, consecutive singles by Manzi, Kelly and DeCoste loaded the bases. An RBI single by Lagasse then brought home Manzi, while Kelly scored after the Ravens threw the ball away. Hayden followed with an RBI single to center to drive home DeCoste and Lagasse ultimately scored on a wild pitch.

The Hawks inched closer with another run in the bottom of the eighth to trim the lead to 12-8. Lluberes led off with a double to left-center, moved to third on a single down the right-field line by Manzi and scored on an RBI single back up the middle by Kelly. However, the next six Saint Anselm batters would go in order over the course of the eighth and ninth innings, and 12-8 wound up the final score.

Sophomore right-hander Kevin McGowan (Nashua, N.H.) started on the mound and did not factor in the decision for Franklin Pierce. Over four-plus innings, he allowed three runs on four hits, walked four and struck out two. Junior left-hander Vladimir Camacho (Jamaica Plain, N.Y.) earned his second win (4-1) in as many days out of the bullpen for the Ravens. Over the final five innings, he allowed five runs (four earned) on nine hits, walked one and struck out four.

Kelly started and took the loss (2-4) on the hill for Saint Anselm. Over just 2.2 innings, he surrendered four runs on five hits, walked two and struck out two.

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).