#15 Franklin Pierce Holds Off 
American International, 5-2
Five-run fifth the difference as Ravens win 
sixth straight and 11^th of 12

RINDGE, N.H. (April 18, 2006) – Franklin Pierce, ranked 15^th in both this week’s Collegiate Baseball magazine and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division II polls, used a five-run fifth to post a 5-2 victory over American International College in Northeast-10 Conference baseball action at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field this afternoon.

            Junior Arric Mather (Danville, N.H./Winnacunnet) helped lead Franklin Pierce to its sixth-straight win and 11^th over the last 12 games with eight strong innings to collect his sixth victory of the season (6-1). Mather yielded an earned run, while scattering eight hits and a walk with ten strikeouts. It marks the second-straight game with double-digit strikeouts for the right-hander. Sophomore Tyler Bishop (Milford, N.H./Milford) retired the only batter he faced with the bases loaded in the ninth to pick up his first save of the season.            

Senior Mike Chambers (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) paced the Ravens attack by going 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a run scored. Junior Vinny Pennell (Spencer, Mass./David Prouty) was 2-3 with a double, stolen base and an RBI, while senior Randy Fenton (Worcester, Mass./Doherty) was 1-3 with a pair of RBI, a stolen base and run scored. Senior All-American Bryan Duplissie (East Swanzey, N.H./Monadnock Regional) and freshman Scott Savastano (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) each chipped in with triples.

            Junior Tyler Cooke (Brattleboro, Vt./Brattleboro) was 2-for-5 for American International with an RBI, while senior Jon Ferry (Thorndike, Mass./Palmer) finished 1-3 with a stolen base and run scored. Senior Neal Quesnel (South Hadley, Mass./South Hadley) was 1-5 with a pair of stolen bases. The Yellow Jackets ten hits this afternoon are the most by an NE-10 opponent against Franklin Pierce this season.

            Junior Brett Cooley (Somers, Conn./Somers) suffered his sixth loss of the season (2-6), allowing five earned runs on ten hits with five strikeouts over six innings. Seven of the ten hits for the Ravens came in the decisive fifth inning.            

The game was scoreless, with AIC holding a 6-2 advantage in the hit department, when Franklin struck in the decisive fifth. Savastano led off with a triple and scored on Pennell’s double down the leftfield line. Fenton delivered a two-run single, advanced to second on the throw, stole third and then scored when the throw got past the AIC third baseman. Chambers doubled and scored on a two-out single from junior All-American Garrett Olson (Norway, Maine/Oxford Hills).

            AIC got a run back in the seventh as Ferry drew a leadoff walk, stole second and later scored on a two-out single up the middle by Cooke. The Yellow Jackets put the first two batters on in the ninth with a hit batter and Ferry single, before Franklin Pierce’s first reliever Tom Gilmore (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place) struck out the next three batters. Unfortunately, Cooke reached first to load the bases on the third strikeout thanks to a wild pitch. AIC took advantage as junior Bryan Soltis (Plantsville, Conn./Southington) followed with a pinch-hit single up the middle before Bishop came on and got the Ravens out of the jam.

            Franklin Pierce (28-8, 13-4 NE-10) is back in action tomorrow for a key NE-10 doubleheader at Pace University, ranked sixth in the region by the NCBWA, beginning at 1 p.m. American International (9-18, 5-14 NE-10) is off until Thursday when it hosts the Ravens in the back end of their two-game midweek series at 3:30 p.m.

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