2004
ECAC DIVISION II RINDGE,
N.H. (May 14, 2004) –
Top-seeded Franklin Pierce eliminated second-seeded New Jersey Institute
of Technology with a 10-6 victory in game two of the 2004 ECAC Division
II Baseball Championship at Crystal Field this afternoon.
Franklin Pierce (30-22), which reached the 30-win plateau for the
third-straight season, will now face third-seeded Wilmington (Del.)
College (21-24) in a best-of-three ECAC Championship series beginning
later today. NJIT (23-24) sees its season come to a close after it was
defeated by Wilmington, 12-0, in today’s first game. Freshman third baseman Garrett Olson (Norway, Maine/Oxford Hills) led the way for Franklin Pierce as he was a perfect 5-for-5
at
the plate with two runs scored, an RBI and stolen base. Classmate Vinny
Pennell (Spencer, Mass./David Prouty) was 3-5 with two runs
scored, a home run and three RBI. Senior Dante Blancarte (South
Berwick, Maine/Amesbury (Mass.)) hit 2-5 with two runs scored, a
homer and two RBI, while sophomore Randy Fenton (Worcester,
Mass./Doherty) finished 2-4 with an RBI.
Junior right-hander Ryan Bowling (Cedar Springs,
Mich./Cedar Springs) picked up the win with 4.2 innings of
no-hit shutout relief, fanning three and walking two. Freshman Dan Morogiello (Whitehouse Station, N.J./Hunterdon Central) led NJIT’s offense as he hit 3-4 with an RBI. Junior Philip Resciniti (East Hanover, N.J./Hanover Park) was 2-4 with two runs scored, a home run and RBI, while sophomore Justin Racz (Parsippany, N.J./Parsippany) finished 2-5 with a double and stolen base.
Junior
Dennis Keefe (Linden, N.J./Linden) suffered the loss (4-5)
as he yielded six earned runs on seven hits with a walk and three
strikeouts in 3.2 innings before leaving the game with an injury.
Franklin Pierce jumped ahead with a six-run third as junior Eric
Cavers (Otisfield, Maine/Oxford Hills) scored on an error,
Blancarte belted a two-run homer and Pennell followed with his first
career home run, a three-run shot, to right-center.
After NJIT answered with a pair in the top of the fourth, the
Ravens added another run in the home half, before the Highlanders closed
to within a run with four in the fifth. Sophomore Chris Legiadre
(Manalapan, N.J./Manalapan) opened things with an RBI single to
right, followed by a pinch-hit RBI single from senior Ryan Held
(Wayne, N.J./Don Bosco). Morogiello added an RBI single through
the left side and the Highlanders plated another run on a wild pitch to
cap the inning.
Franklin Pierce put the game away with a three-run seventh.
Fenton singled through the right side to score a run and sophomore Elliott
Shea (Jaffrey, N.H./Conant) added a two-run single down the
leftfield line, which was enough of a lead for Bowling to hold. |
