#27
Franklin Pierce Set to RINDGE,
N.H. (May 12, 2005) – Second-seeded Franklin Pierce, ranked No. 27
in this week’s Collegiate Baseball magazine Division II poll,
opens postseason play on Friday when it battles third-seeded Stonehill
College as the double-elimination portion of the 2005 Northeast-10
Conference Baseball Championship, presented by UBS, opens at LeLacheur
Park in Lowell, Mass., at 4 p.m.
Franklin
Pierce (27-12, 21-9 NE-10) earned a bye into the double-elimination
portion of the Championship for the third-straight year, marking the
lone NE-10 program to earn a first round bye each of those seasons.
Stonehill (25-18, 17-13 NE-10) reached the weekend portion with a 5-0
victory over sixth-seeded Saint Anselm College in first round action
yesterday afternoon at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton, Mass.
Franklin
Pierce enters postseason play winners of two-straight and 11 of 14, but
has not played since posting a commanding 12-2 victory over the College
of Saint Rose on Thursday, May 5, at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field.
Stonehill, which has played seven games since May 4, have dropped three
of its last five despite yesterday’s first round victory over Saint
Anselm.
Friday
will mark the 16th meeting all-time between these two
programs, the third in postseason play. Franklin Pierce holds a 10-5
advantage in the all-time series which dates back to 1999 and won both
postseason encounters, which occurred in the 2003 NE-10 Championship in
Lowell. The Ravens registered a 1-0 victory in 12 innings in their
opening game of the weekend, before eliminating the Chieftains in the
Saturday night contest, 6-1, to advance to its lone NE-10 Championship
game appearance in program history.
Franklin
Pierce has won ten-straight after posting a pair of commanding victories
to sweep the regular season series between the two clubs this spring.
The Ravens registered a 10-2 victory over the Chieftains at Campanelli
Stadium on April 26, before collecting a 10-0 win at Dr. Pappas Field on
April 28.
Franklin
Pierce is led on offense by junior Shawn
Hayes (Charlton, Mass./Holy Name), who leads the
Northeast-10 with a .405 batting average to go with 36 runs scored, 12
doubles, four triples, five home runs, 34 RBI and 14 stolen bases.
Sophomore Garrett Olson
(Norway, Maine/Oxford Hills) is also near the top of
nearly every offensive category in the Conference with a .388 batting
average, 49 runs scored, 13 doubles, two triples, nine home runs, 35 RBI
and 12 steals.
Junior
Mike Chambers (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) is hitting
.338 with 40 runs scored, a Conference high and school-record matching
17 doubles, six homers and 36 RBI. Classmate Bryan
Duplissie (East Swanzey, N.H./Monadnock) leads the NE-10
with 11 home runs and 45 RBI, while sophomore Vinny Pennell (Spencer, Mass./David Prouty) has stolen a
team-best 21 bases, which ranks second in the Conference.
The
Ravens lead the NE-10 with a .314 team batting average, 95 doubles, 40
home runs, a .492 slugging percentage and .376 on-base percentage.
Senior right-hander Bryan
Borowski (Clarksburg, Mass./Drury) is expected to make
his ninth appearance, eighth start, of the season tomorrow. He is 6-1
with a 2.15 ERA, 44 strikeouts and 17 walks in 50.1 innings this season
with opposing batters hitting just .199 against him.
Duplissie,
junior Tyler Cummings
(South Paris, Maine/Oxford Hills) and sophomore Daniel
Fournier (Worcester, Mass./Holy Name) are also mainstays
in the Ravens pitching rotation who figure to see starts this weekend.
Duplissie
is 5-1 with a 1.30 ERA, 44 strikeouts and 18 walks over 48.1 innings
with opposing batters hitting .199 against him. Cummings is 5-3 with a
2.04 ERA, 29 strikeouts and just nine walks over 53.0 innings, while
Fournier is 4-0 with a 1.24 ERA, 49 strikeouts and 23 walks over 36.1
innings.
Sophomore
Matt Fisher (Athol, Mass./Athol) has been Franklin
Pierce’s ace out of the bullpen, registering a 2-1 record and
school-record four saves with 18 strikeouts over 25.1 innings in 15
appearances. Junior Mike
Farrell (Russell, Mass./Gateway Regional) has also been a
key part of the bullpen with a 1-0 record and 1.93 ERA over 14.0 innings
in nine appearances.
Senior
Tim Flynn (Clifton Park, N.Y./Albany Academy) leads
Stonehill’s offense with a .358 batting average, 30 runs scored, 11
doubles, two home runs, 26 RBI and 14 steals. Junior Coley Lyons (West Roxbury, Mass./Catholic Memorial) is
hitting .313 with 27 runs scored, 12 doubles, 24 RBI and 15 steals,
while senior Craig Audette
(Raynham, Mass./Bridgewater-Raynham) is batting .310 with
a team-best 34 runs scored, six doubles, 25 RBI and team-leading 16
steals.
With
ace Billy Sittig (West Roxbury, Mass./Catholic Memorial)
going eight scoreless innings yesterday, Franklin Pierce will likely see
senior left-hander Billy
McLane (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth) tomorrow. McLane is 5-4
this season with a 2.36 ERA, 39 strikeouts and 17 walks over 72.1
innings. Sittig leads the team with a 9-1 mark, 1.53 ERA, 86 strikeouts
and 27 walks over 76.1 innings with opposing batters hitting a mere .171
against him.
Junior
Brian Nelson (Greenville, R.I./LaSalle) holds down the
bullpen with a 2-4 record and three saves to go with a 1.88 ERA, 41
strikeouts and 12 walks over 38.1 innings in 15 appearances.
The
winner of tomorrow’s game will advance to Saturday’s winner’s
bracket semifinal against the winner of tomorrow night’s game between
top-seeded and No. 24-ranked Southern Connecticut State University
(28-10, 25-5 NE-10) and fourth-seeded UMass Lowell (26-16, 17-13 NE-10)
at 3 p.m. The loser will be relegated to the loser’s bracket and face
the loser of the second contest in a Saturday morning elimination game
at 11 a.m. The Northeast-10 Conference Championship is slated for Sunday
at noon, with a second game, if necessary, at 3 p.m.
2005
Northeast-10 Conference Baseball Championship |
