Weather Forecast Forces NE-10 Tournament Changes
Conference moves to single-elimination event to determine automatic NCAA bid  

RINDGE, N.H. (May 11, 2006) – This weekend’s ominous weather forecast has forced some changes in format for the 2006 Northeast-10 Conference Baseball Championship, presented by Diamond Sports. The Conference has replaced the original double-elimination schedule with a single-elimination event to be played on Friday, May 12.

Regular season champion Franklin Pierce (40-9, 25-5 NE-10), ranked seventh in this week’s Collegiate Baseball magazine Division II coaches’ poll, is the top seed and will face fourth-seeded and host UMass Lowell (34-12, 20-10 NE-10), a 1-0 winner over fifth-seeded Bryant University this afternoon, at 10 a.m. The Ravens are the defending Tournament Champions, and are winners of 11-straight, 18 of 19 and 23 of 25

            Third-seeded Southern Connecticut State University (32-16, 20-10 NE-10), a 2-0 winner over sixth-seeded Saint Anselm College yesterday, will face second-seeded Stonehill College (28-16, 22-8 NE-10) in tomorrow’s second semifinal 30 minutes upon the conclusion of Friday’s first game.

            The NE-10 Championship will be played 30-minutes upon the conclusion of the second semifinal, with Sunday being set aside as a rain date.

            Admission is $4 for adults, $2 for students with valid ID, senior citizens and children 12 and under.

            Franklin Pierce enters the postseason leading the Northeast-10 in team batting average (.313), earned run average (2.29) and fielding percentage (.975). The Ravens also lead the NE-10 in slugging percentage (.479), on-base percentage (.391), runs scored (359), hits (510), doubles (111), triples (22), home runs (39), stolen bases (135), opponent batting average (.206) and wins (40).

            Franklin Pierce has four batters among the top ten in hitting among Conference leaders, led by NE-10 Freshman of the Year candidate Scott Savastano (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North), a 33^rd-round draft pick of the Chicago White Sox in 2005, with a team-best .409 average, which is currently tied for the NE-10 lead. Junior All-American Garrett Olson (Norway, Maine/Oxford Hills) is hitting .362 (6^th), senior Elliot Shea (Jaffrey, N.H./Conant) is batting .356 (7^th), while senior Mike Chambers (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) is hitting .337 (10^th).

            Three Franklin Pierce pitchers rank in the top five among NE-10 ERA leaders, including Friday’s starter Shane Presutti (Southbridge, Mass./Southbridge) with a team-low 1.19 ERA (3^rd) to go with a 9-0 record, 72 strikeouts and 21 walks in 68.1 innings of work over ten appearances (nine starts) this spring. Senior Tyler Cummings (South Paris, Maine/Oxford Hills) has posted a 1.36 ERA (4^th) and junior Arric Mather (Danville, N.H./Winnacunett) has a1.52 ERA (5^th). 

2006 Northeast-10 Conference Baseball Championship,
presented by Diamond Sports
May 10-12 – NEW SCHEDULE

Wednesday, May 10
First Round – Single elimination
Game 1: #3 Southern Connecticut State 2, #6 Saint Anselm 0

Thursday, May 11
First Round – Single elimination
Game 2: #4 UMass Lowell 1, #5 Bryant 0

Friday, May 12
Single elimination (LeLacheur Park, Lowell, Mass.)
Game 3: #1 Franklin Pierce (40-9, 25-5 NE-10) at #4 UMass Lowell (34-12, 20-10 NE-10), 10 a.m.
Game 4: #3 Southern Conn. State (32-16, 20-10 NE-10) vs. #2 Stonehill (28-16, 22-8 NE-10),
30 mins upon conclusion of game 3
Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 30 mins upon conclusion of game 4

Sunday, May 14
Rain Date (LeLacheur Park, Lowell, Mass.)