LaCroix collects four hits

RINDGE, N.H. (March 30, 2013) – The Franklin Pierce University baseball team scored no runs in the first through fifth innings in a Saturday afternoon doubleheader, but piled up nine combined runs in the second half of the games of the twinbill to come away with a sweep of Massachusetts Lowell in Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division play at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field. Junior right-hander Ryan Leach (Farmingdale, Maine) stole the show in the first game, retiring all nine batters he faced over the final three innings, with six strikeouts.

With the wins, Franklin Pierce improves to 16-9 (6-0 Northeast-10, 3-0 Northeast Division) and sweeps the three-game season series from Massachusetts Lowell, which falls to 12-9 (0-3 Northeast-10, 0-3 Northeast Division). The Ravens also lay claim to the Keenan Cup -- which is presented to the winner of the season series between the two teams -- for the second consecutive season. The Cup was created in 2012 to honor the memory of the late Adam Keenan, who played for both schools before tragically passing away in June 2011, due to Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy, while practicing with his summer league team, the Seacoast Mavericks.

Lowell opened the scoring in the first game with a run in the top of the third inning. The top of the order led off, and sophomore shortstop Geoff DeGroot clubbed a full-count double into the gap in left-center. He scored two batters later on an RBI single to center by senior second baseman James Katsiroubas.

The River Hawks doubled the lead to 2-0 with an unearned run in the top of the sixth. Sophomore first baseman Jimmy Ricoy led off and chopped a ball on the left side. Franklin Pierce sophomore third baseman Matt O'Herron (Springfield, Mass.) couldn't get to the long hop and misplayed the ball for an error. Ricoy moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a line-drive single to right field by sophomore designated hitter Sam Johnson.

The Ravens answered with two runs in the home half of the sixth to tie the game at 2-2. Junior center fielder Calvin Graves (Boston, Mass.) opened the inning and looped a single into left-center. He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt in front of junior first baseman Zach Mathieu (Derry, N.H.), who was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second. After a single through the left side by senior right fielder Nick LaCroix (Grafton, Mass.) loaded the bases, sophomore catcher Matt Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.) hit what could've been an inning-ending double play to shortstop. DeGroot got the ball to Katsiroubas for the first out, but Katsiroubas air-mailed the throw to first for an error. Graves scored on the ground ball to give Walsh one RBI, while Mathieu scored on the error to tie the game.

Meanwhile, senior right-hander Ryan Thompson (Calgary, Alberta) fought through six innings and 118 pitches without his best stuff for parts of the afternoon on the way to the no-decision. In spite of that, he allowed just two runs (one earned) on five hits -- only one of which went for extra bases, a third-inning double -- walked two, threw a wild pitch and struck out nine. Leach took over to start the seventh and shut the lights out on the Lowell lineup. He retired all six batters he faced in the seventh and eighth innings, striking out two in each inning.

In the bottom of the eighth, Franklin Pierce got the two runs it needed -- both unearned -- to take the lead and create the 4-2 final. With one out, Mathieu reached on an error by the second baseman and then came all the way around to score when LaCroix drove a double into the gap in left-center. LaCroix moved to third on a fly ball to right by Walsh and scored on an RBI single to left-center by sophomore left fielder John Razzino (Cranston, R.I.).

Leach came back out for the ninth, struck out two more to finish with six, and retired the side in order again to finish off the game and pick up the win (1-3). In all, he retired all nine batters he faced, struck out six of them, and got groundouts on each of the three balls which were put in play.

Lowell went with senior right-hander Taylor Robinson on the mound in the first game, and he was dominant over the first five innings, allowing only four baserunners, one of which was on an error. In all, he threw 7.1 innings, allowed four runs (one earned) on five hits, walked one, threw a wild pitch, hit two batters and struck out eight. Despite allowing only the one earned run, he was ultimately hit with the loss (2-1).

Lowell opened the scoring in the second game with a run in the top of the first inning. With two outs and nobody on, Katsiroubas turned on a 1-2 fastball on the inner half and launched a solo home run, his third of the season, into the snow bank beyond the left-field fence.

The Ravens picked up a run in the home half of the sixth to tie the game at 1-1. With one out, Mathieu reached on a throwing error by the shortstop, moved to both second and third on wild pitches, and later scored on a sacrifice fly to right by Walsh.

The River Hawks answered immediately with two runs in the top of the seventh to take a 3-1 lead. The first two batters of the inning went quickly, before sophomore left fielder Matthew Sanchez lifted a ball into right-center field. Graves, who had been shaded toward left-center, covered lots of ground to get to the ball and got a glove on it, but could not corral it, as Sanchez reached with a single. The base hit spelled the end of the day for junior right-hander Kevin McGowan (Nashua, N.H.), and Franklin Pierce needed three more pitchers to get the final out of the inning. Sanchez stole second and then scored when DeGroot followed with an RBI single into right-center. DeGroot moved to second on a wild pitch and scored two batters later on an RBI single back through the middle by Katsiroubas.

Franklin Pierce's bats finally came alive in the bottom of the eighth, when the team sent 10 men to bat and plated five runs (four earned) to take a 6-3 lead which would stand as the final score. The inning started at the top of the order, with a single by Graves. After a flyout for the first out brought Mathieu to the plate, Lowell elected to go to the bullpen rather than let sophomore right-hander Shane Beauchemin face the threat 90 pitches into his outing. The move backfired when Mathieu worked an eight-pitch walk off junior right-hander Mike Calzetta and LaCroix and Walsh followed with seven- and six-pitch walks, respectively, to force home Graves and keep the bases loaded with the tying run at third.

The Walsh walk spelled the end of the day for Calzetta, as the River Hawks turned to sophomore right-hander Geoff Fisher. In an incident similar to the latter stages of the first game, Fisher got a ground ball hit right at Katsiroubas at second, which could have been an inning-ending double play, but Katsiroubas saw the ball go between his legs and into right-center, allowing the tying and go-ahead runs to score and O'Herron to reach at first with one RBI on the play. With an insurance run standing at second in the form of sophomore pinch runner Ryan Boswell (New Bedford, Mass.), who had taken over for Walsh, Boswell stole third and scored on a safety-squeeze bunt by junior catcher Marty Dunlap (Dorchester, Mass.) who legged out a single on the play as the Lowell defense got crossed up. O'Herron moved to second on the bunt and scored when freshman second baseman Rich Patrizio (East Northport, N.Y.) ripped an RBI double over the bag at third and down the left-field line.

McGowan threw the first 6.2 innings for Franklin Pierce in the second game, but was long gone by the time the game was decided. He allowed two runs on six hits, walked one and struck out seven. Freshman right-hander Paul Covelle (Medford, Mass.) brought up the rear of the conga line out of the bullpen and picked up his first career win (1-1) when the dust settled. He threw the final 1.1 innings without allowing a run, surrendered one hit, walked one and struck out one.

Beauchemin went the first 7.1 innings for Lowell and left as the pitcher of record before his work was undone by the defense and the bullpen. He allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits, walked one, threw two wild pitches, hit a batter and struck out four. Calzetta walked all three batters he faced, and all would ultimately score; he mixed in a wild pitch as well and was eventually charged with the loss (1-1).

The Ravens return to the field on Tuesday, April 2, when they remain home to host Saint Anselm in a Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division contest. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at Pappas Field.

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). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce baseball apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).