Junior Dan Close went 4-6 with two homeruns, three runs scored and a season-high six RBIs to lead the Ravens

FP
Rallies from Early Deficit to Defeat Greyhounds,
19-12
Ravens use ten-straight unearned runs to erase early 6-0 lead

RINDGE, N.H. (April 17, 2002) - Franklin Pierce University
used ten-straight unearned runs in the fourth and fifth innings to help erase an early 6-0 deficit and go on to post a 19-12 victory over Assumption College in a Northeast-10 Conference baseball slugfest at Crystal Field this afternoon.

The top four batters in the Franklin Pierce lineup led the offense as they hit a combined 15-for-23 with four homeruns, three doubles, 16 runs scored and 17 RBIs in the contest. Junior rightfielder Dan Close (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) led the way with a 4-6 effort, two homers, three runs scored and a season-high six RBIs. Classmate Paul McAuliffe (Foxboro, Mass./Foxboro) continues to swing a hot bat as he finished 4-6 with two doubles, three runs scored and five RBIs.

Senior shortstop Scott Loiseau (Worcester, Mass./St. Peter Marian) was 3-5 with a homer, five runs scored and four RBIs from the leadoff spot, while sophomore Dante Blancarte (Amesbury, Mass./Amesbury) was 4-6 with a double, a homer, two runs scored and two RBIs.

Sophomore Greg Basile earned his second win of the season in relief

Sophomore Greg Basile (Suffield, Conn./Suffield) earned his second win of the season (2-0) in relief as he held FP
in the game, allowing three earned runs on five hits with two strikeouts and a walk in three innings of work.

Freshman Neil Harrington led Assumption with a 4-5 effort at the plate, including a homerun, three runs scored and three RBIs. Junior Mike Prior hit 3-5 with his first homerun of the season, two runs scored and four RBIs.

Senior Jay Laganelli suffered the loss as he yielded nine runs, just three earned, on 11 hits with three strikeouts and a walk in 3.1 innings.

Assumption jumped on FP
starter Matt Weagle (Charlton, Mass./Shepherd Hill) for six runs in the second inning, with Prior belting a three-run homer to spark the frame. Senior Bill Bertrand chipped in an RBI double.

FP
closed the gap to 6-3 with a single run in the second as Blancarte doubled, advanced to third and later scored on two wild pitches. Things could have been worse in the third as the Ravens loaded the bases, but came away with just a pair. McAuliffe singled in senior Eric Burney (Rockville, Conn./Rockville), who led off the frame with a single. Blancarte hit into a rally-killing double play with no outs that scored one run.

The Ravens erupted in the fourth with six unearned runs as FP
loaded the bases on two errors and a walk after Laganelli retired the leadoff batter. Loiseau and McAuliffe each laced two run singles and Close capped the inning off with a two-run homer.

After Assumption closed the gap to 9-8 in the top of the fifth, FP
scored four more unearned runs off reliever Joe Sposato in the bottom of the frame. McAuliffe laced an RBI double to spark the inning, Close added an RBI single and Blancarte capped the frame with a two-run homer.

The Ravens broke the game open in the seventh with four runs with three coming off Close’s second homerun of the afternoon.

FP
(15-13, 9-7 NE-10) returns to action tomorrow afternoon when it hosts Fitchburg State College in a non-conference battle at 3:30 p.m. Assumption (7-20, 4-13 NE-10) hosts Bryant College on Friday at 3:30 p.m.