Southern
Connecticut Sweeps NEW
HAVEN, Conn. (March 29, 2004) –
Southern Connecticut State University, ranked No. 2 in this week’s
National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division II
Northeast Regional poll, swept Franklin Pierce, ranked eighth in the
region, in a key Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader at The Ballpark at
SCSU this afternoon. The Owls rallied for a 7-5 victory in game one,
before claiming an 8-1 decision in the nightcap, which was called in the
seventh because of darkness.
In game one, Southern Connecticut rallied from a 5-0 deficit after four and a half with three runs in the fourth and four in the seventh. Junior Jeremy Terni (Uncasville, Conn.) belted a grand slam in the seventh to cap the Owls comeback effort. Sophomore Joe Pagan (Bridgeport, Conn.) finished 2-for-4 with a double for SCSU. Senior left-hander Brian Forgione (Branford, Conn.) picked up the win for the Owls with the complete-game effort, yielding five runs, four earned, on eight hits with four strikeouts and three walks.
Junior
right-hander Ryan Bowling (Cedar Springs, Mich./Cedar Springs)
suffered the loss (1-2), as he was touched for seven earned runs on
seven hits and four walks with seven strikeouts in seven innings of
work. Sophomore Mike Chambers (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry)
paced the Franklin Pierce offense as he hit 3-4 with an RBI and run
scored. Freshman Garrett Olson (Norway, Maine/Oxford Hills)
finished 1-2 with a pair of walks and a run scored.
The Ravens staked out a 3-0 lead in the top of the second as
freshman Kim Hart (Gorham, Maine/Gorham) forced a
bases-loaded walk, sophomore Randy Fenton (Worcester,
Mass./Doherty) pushed a run across with a sacrifice fly and
classmate Mike Feetham (Quincy, Mass./North Quincy) scored
on an error.
Franklin Pierce plated two more in the fifth with sophomore Elliott
Shea (Jaffrey, N.H./Conant) belting an RBI double, then scoring
on a single from Chambers.
SCSU closed the gap to 5-3 in the home half of the fifth with
four-straight hits and a bases-loaded walk to set up Terni’s heroics.
In the nightcap, Southern scored eight runs over the final two
innings before the game was halted heading into the home half of the
seventh and the Owls holding an 8-1 edge.
Senior Henry Lee (Naugatuck, Conn.) paced the SCSU
offense as he hit 2-4 with a pair of doubles, two runs scored and three
RBI. Junior Mel Davis (Bristol, Conn.) was 1-3 with a
double and three RBI, while senior Orlando Lugo (Providence, R.I.)
finished 2-3 with two runs scored. Sophomore right-hander Joe
Vingo (Harrison, N.Y.) picked up the win, allowing just an
earned run on five hits with nine strikeouts and two walks in the
complete-game effort. Freshman Clay Jenkins (Easton, N.H./Profile) suffered the loss, yielding six earned runs on six hits and six walks with two strikeouts over five-plus innings of work.
Olson
was 1-2 to extend his team-best hitting streak to seven games, while
freshman Vinny Pennell (Spencer, Mass./David Prouty) hit
1-3 with a double and RBI.
The game was scoreless until Feetham led off the fourth with a
single and scored on Pennell’s RBI double with two out for Franklin
Pierce.
The Owls took the lead for good in the fifth as Lugo scored on a
sac fly, Lee laced an RBI double and Morgan drew a bases-loaded walk.
Southern broke the game open with five in the sixth with Lee belting a
two-run double and David capping things with a bases-loaded two-bagger. Franklin Pierce (8-14, 3-2 NE-10) returns to action tomorrow when it visits Merrimack College for a Conference game at 3 p.m. The Ravens were originally scheduled to host Merrimack on Tuesday, but the two will play a doubleheader in Rindge on Thursday with Wednesday’s game at Merrimack moved up a day. Southern Connecticut (12-7, 3-1 NE-10) is scheduled to visit the University of New Haven, ranked third in the region, on Friday at 3 p.m. |
