Walsh, Wenrich hit home runs in defeat

MANCHESTER, N.H. (May 13, 2012) – Freshman catcher Matt Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.) and senior designated hitter Isaac Wenrich (Westlawn, Pa.) both hit home runs on Sunday afternoon, but it was not enough, as the No. 14/26 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team, seeded second in the Northeast Division, dropped a 6-5 decision to No. 20/21 Le Moyne, seeded second in the Southwest Division, in the first game of the championship round of the Northeast-10 Conference Baseball Championship, hosted by Saint Anselm at Sullivan Park. The outcome necessitates a decisive final game of the Championship, beginning at 2:35 p.m.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 36-16-1, while Le Moyne improves to 39-13-1.

The Ravens nearly rallied for the lead to potentially claim the title in the top of the ninth inning. With one out, junior third baseman Anthony Peguero (Hyde Park, Mass.) worked a walk and moved to second on a single to right-center by sophomore left fielder Calvin Graves (Boston, Mass.). After a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position, senior second baseman Dan Hennigan (Downingtown, Pa.) bounced a ball over the mound that threatened to become a game-tying single. Le Moyne junior shortstop Ryan Mahoney made a diving stop behind the bag at second to keep the ball on the infield and hold the Ravens to one run on the base hit. From there, Le Moyne junior right-hander got Kevin Carroll struck out a batter, hit a batter to load the bases and got a groundout to close out the game.

Earlier in the afternoon, the Ravens opened the scoring with two runs in the top of the second inning. With one out, junior right fielder Nick LaCroix (Grafton, Mass.) worked a walk and Walsh followed with a laser beam of a two-run home run to the power alley in left-center field, his fourth of the season.

Le Moyne answered with two runs of its own in the bottom half of the second to tie the game at 2-2. Mahoney led off, drove a double into right-center, went to third on an infield single by sophomore left fielder Pat Wiese and scored on a balk, which also moved Wiese to second. Wiese scored when junior first baseman Paul Speicher clubbed an RBI double into the gap in left-center.

Franklin Pierce picked up two runs in the top of the fifth inning to edge out in front, 4-2. Leading off the inning, Wenrich drove a ball well beyond the fence to the left of straightaway center field for his fourth home run of the season. Graves started things again with a one-out single to right-center and went first-to-third on a hit-and-run single through the right side by Hennigan. In the first-and-third situation, Le Moyne ran a set play to throw behind Graves at third, but senior catcher Kyle Kalaka threw the ball away, allowing Graves to come in to score.

Le Moyne plated four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to jump out in front, 6-4. Wiese opened the inning with a groundball to first that sophomore first baseman Zach Mathieu (Derry, N.H.) committed an error on. Speicher followed and clubbed a two-run home run to center field, his first of the season. Junior designated hitter Matthew Ciraco started things up again immediately with an infield single to third base, but wound up on second on the play on an errant throw by Peguero. A hit by pitch and a walk eventually loaded the bases and then a single through the left side by senior third baseman Matt Marra brought in the second two runs of the inning.

Sophomore right-hander Ryan Leach (Farmingdale, Maine) started and suffered the loss (6-3) on the mound for Franklin Pierce. Over 5.1 innings, he allowed six runs (five earned) on eight hits, did not issue a walk, hit three batters and struck out six.

Senior right-hander Ed Kohout started and picked up the win (8-3) for Le Moyne. In seven innings of work, he allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits, walked one and struck out nine. Junior right-hander Kevin Carroll worked in an out of trouble in the ninth to tally his 10th save of the season.

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).