2006
NCAA II NORTHEAST REGIONAL RINDGE,
N.H. (May 19, 2006) –
Fourth-seeded Southern Connecticut State University avoided
elimination with a 9-3 victory over top-seeded and 11th-ranked
Franklin Pierce in game five of the 2006 NCAA Division II Northeast
Regional at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field this afternoon.
Southern Connecticut (34-18)
will now face sixth-seeded Dowling College (31-14), who avoided
elimination earlier in the day with a 2-1 triumph over second-seeded
University of New Haven (35-12), tomorrow at 1 p.m. Franklin Pierce
(41-11) will play the loser of tomorrow’s first game between
third-seeded UMass Lowell (37-12) and fifth-seeded Dominican College
(41-16) at 4:30 p.m. The UML/Dominican was scheduled to be played
today, but a four-hour rain delay at the outset pushed the games back,
forcing it to tomorrow morning.
Southern senior left-hander Jeff
Farrell (Naugatuck, Conn./Naugatuck) again showed his
dominance over Franklin Pierce, improving his career record against
the Ravens to 5-0. He allowed three earned runs (all off solo homers),
while scattering 11 hits and walking none with nine strikeouts over
8.1 innings.
Junior Jose Ortiz,
Jr., (Waterbury, Conn./Crosby) sparked the offense as he
finished a perfect 2-for-2 with a pair of walks, two RBI and two runs
scored. Junior Jim McLaughlin (Medway, Mass./Medway) was
1-4 with a double and three RBI, while sophomore Joe Kahlden
(Norwalk, Conn./Fairfield Prep) finished 2-4 with two runs
scored. Senior Joe Pagan (Bridgeport, Conn./Central)
chipped in a solo homer and junior Sean Morgan (Maynard,
Mass./Maynard) was 2-2 with an RBI. Senior All-American Bryan Duplissie (East Swanzey, N.H./Monadnock Regional) paced Franklin Pierce’s 12-hit attack, going 2-for-3 with a double and one of the Ravens three solo homers. Freshman Scott Savastano (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) was 2-4 with a home run, while junior Vinny Pennell (Spencer, Mass./David Prouty) hit 3-for-4 with a pair of stolen bases. Sophomore Matt Anderson (Medford, Mass./Medford) added two hits, while junior All-American Garrett Olson (Norway, Maine/Oxford Hills) chipped in a homer.
Junior right-hander Daniel
Fournier (Worcester, Mass./Holy Name), who fired a no-hitter
in his regular season start against SCSU on March 28, suffered the
loss (5-3) as he allowed six runs, five earned, on seven hits with
three strikeouts and three walks in four-plus innings of work.
Southern gave Farrell plenty
of room to work with, staking out a 3-0 lead after three and an 8-0
advantage through six, before Savastano’s solo homer broke the ice
for Franklin Pierce in the top of the seventh. The Owls opened the
scoring with a single run in the second as Morgan delivered an RBI
single to left with one out.
SCSU took advantage of the second of Franklin Pierce’s four
errors on the afternoon and a wild pitch in a two-run third. Freshman Michael
Diaz (Monroe, Conn./Masuk) led off with a double, was
sacrificed to third and scored on a wild pitch. Ortiz, who walked and
advanced to third on the wild pitch and a throwing error, scored on a
ground out.
The Owls tacked on three
more in the fifth, sparked by McLaughlin’s two-run double that
chased Fournier. He later scored on a sacrifice fly. Southern took
advantage of two more Franklin Pierce errors in a two-run sixth,
capped by a two-run single from Ortiz. Franklin Pierce got on the board with Savastano’s homer in the seventh, but Pagan answered with a solo shot of his own in the home half for the Owls. Olson and Duplissie hit back-to-back homers to round out the scoring for the Ravens in the eighth. |
