Franklin Pierce Sweeps 
North Dakota State
Ravens hold off Bison in game one; 
blow doors open in nightcap

FORT MYERS, Fla. (March 12, 2004) – Franklin Pierce, receiving votes in both the National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America (NCBWA) and Collegiate Baseball magazine Division II polls this week, got its spring break trip off to a good start by sweeping a non-conference doubleheader with North Dakota State University at the Gene Cusic Classic in Fort Myers, Fla., this evening. Franklin Pierce held on for a 5-4 victory in game one before posting a 13-5 triumph in the nightcap.

            In game one, Franklin Pierce led 5-2 after five innings and held back North Dakota State for its second-straight win. Junior Eric Cavers (Otisfield, Maine/Oxford Hills) and sophomore Mike Chambers (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) each belted homers for the Ravens to spark the victory.

            Junior Ryan Bowling (Cedar Springs, Mich./Muskegon CC) picked up his first win in a Ravens uniform as he allowed four runs, just one earned, on nine hits with four strikeouts and a walk over 6.1 innings of work. Sophomore Mike Farrell (Russell, Mass./Gateway) earned the first save of his career by retiring the only two batters he faced in the seventh.

            Senior Dante Blancarte (Amesbury, Mass./Amesbury) hit 2-for-2 for the Ravens with a run scored. Sophomore Mike Feetham (Quincy, Mass./North Quincy) and freshman Garrett Olson (Norway, Maine/Oxford Hills) both hit 2-3 with a double and a run scored.

            Chambers gave Franklin Pierce a 2-0 lead when his two-run bomb in the bottom of the first scored Blancarte, who had singled. The Ravens added a run in the fourth, after NDSU had knotted the score with single runs in the second and third, as freshman Kim Hart (Gorham, Maine/Gorham) singled to drive in Feetham who had doubled. After Cavers led off the fifth with his first homer of the season, sophomore Shawn Hayes (Charlton, Mass./Holy Name) singled in classmate Elliott Shea (Jaffrey, N.H./Conant) with what proved to be the winning run.
 

Teams	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
NDSU	0	1	1	0	0	2	0	4	9	2
FP	2	0	0	1	2	0	X	5	12	5

BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

Batteries:
NDSU – Jarrod Asmus, Josh Lambert (4), Neil Wagner (6) and Chris Baso.
FP – Ryan Bowling, Mike Farrell and Eric Cavers.  

WP: Bowling (1-1)
LP: Asmus (1-2)
SV: Farrell (1)
HR: Cavers (1), Chambers (1)               

In the nightcap, Franklin Pierce sent 13 batters to the plate and erased an early 2-0 deficit with 11 runs in the top of the third inning and never looked back to post its third-straight victory and complete the doubleheader sweep.

            Olson continued to swing a hot bat by going 3-4 with two runs scored, an RBI and stolen base. Classmate Vinnie Pennell (Spencer, Mass./David Prouty) was 2-3 with four RBI, a double and two runs scored. Shea was 2-3 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Cavers finished 2-4 with two RBI.

            Junior Keith Brouillard (Westport, Mass./Somerset) picked up the win (1-0) as he allowed five earned runs while scattering 13 hits and a walk with eight strikeouts over six innings of work.

            Chambers sparked the 11-run third with a two-run single. Hayes, Olson, Feetham and Shea each added RBI singles before Pennell capped the framed with a two-run single of his own.

BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

Batteries:
FP – Keith Brouillard, Matt Fisher (7) and Eric Cavers.
NDSU – Matt Erzar, Brandon Goltz (3), Derek Ford (4), Pat Thielke (6) and Mike Baso.

  WP: Brouillard (1-0)
LP: Erzar (0-1)
HR: Jeremiah Piepkorn  

            Franklin Pierce (3-3) returns to action tomorrow for a doubleheader with Wayne State (Mich.) University beginning at 9 a.m. North Dakota State (2-7) faces Ashland University Saturday at 3 p.m.