Ravens clipped in tiebreaker in third-place match

ALTOONA, Pa. (February 1, 2015) – Heading into bracket play on the third and final day of the Red Flash Invitational, hosted by Saint Francis (Pa.), the Franklin Pierce University bowling team was seeded fourth. After three best-of-seven Baker matches, the Ravens would finish fourth as well, after defeating Kutztown, then falling to Norfolk State and dropping a rematch with Kutztown in a tiebreak in the third-place match.

The Ravens opened play on Sunday against Kutztown, which they had lost a traditional match against to end play Saturday. The Ravens would exact their revenge across six games, winning the match 4-2. The two split the first two games, with Kutztown posting a 225-208 victory and Franklin Pierce following with a 205-188 win. The Ravens jumped to a commanding, 3-1 lead with 189-162 and 216-177 victories in the third and fourth games, respectively. After Kutztown picked up a 194-169 win in the fifth game, Franklin Pierce finished things off, 193-156, in the sixth game.

The win sent Franklin Pierce into a semifinal showdown with Norfolk State, with the winner to advance to meet the hosts in the title match. Again the Ravens were looking to exact revenge for a Saturday loss, but this time they would come up just shy in a 4-3 defeat. After winning the first game, 187-153, Franklin Pierce dropped the second (196-178) and third games (181-179). The fourth game against Norfolk State was the high-water mark of the day for the Ravens, who rolled a 221-175 victory. After Norfolk State answered with a 210-156 triumph, Franklin Pierce won the sixth game, 192-173, to force a decisive seventh game, which Norfolk State ultimately took, 232-181. Norfolk State would go on to fall to host Saint Francis (Pa.), 4-1, in the title match.

The loss to Norfolk State meant a trip to the third-place match and a rematch with Kutztown, which had squeaked out a 4-3 win over Cheyney. The Ravens opened strong in their final match of the weekend, using 191-167 and 185-137 victories to jump to a 2-0 lead. Kutztown then rattled off three straight wins -- 180-147, 199-159 and 224-175 -- to take a 3-2 lead, before Franklin Pierce eked out a 171-170 victory in the sixth game to force a seventh game which would decide third place. Having now bowled 12 games against each other on the day, the Ravens and Golden Bears wound up dead even in the 13th, with each knocking down 190 pins. Kutztown knocked down more pins over the course of the match, 1,267-1,198, which granted the Golden Bears the tiebreaker and the third-place finish.

In all, Franklin Pierce averaged 183.6 pins across the 20 games it bowled on Sunday.

The Ravens return to the lanes on Feb. 13-15 at the Golden Bear Classic, hosted by Kutztown in Allentown, Pa.

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 bowling apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' brand new online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).