April 3, 2008

BRYANT SPLITS THURSDAY NIGHT DOUBLEHEADER WITH NO. 5/7 FRANKLIN PIERCE, HANDS RAVENS FIRST CONFERENCE LOSS

Game 1 / Game 2

Junior captain Pat McKenna

RINDGE, NH -- The Bryant University baseball team split Thurday's doubleheader against regionally top-ranked Franklin Pierce University, falling 7-5 in Game One while taking Game Two, 6-5 at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field.  

Thanks to a one-out double in the bottom of the eighth from senior designated hitter Mark Dondero (Medfield, Mass.), coupled with an error by FPU's Kevin Rivers in right field, the Bulldogs (17-11, 7-2 Northeast-10) scored the go-ahead run (Dondero) from second, earning the 6-5 win in the nightcap as well as a split with No. 5/7 Franklin Pierce (18-3, 5-1). The victory snapped the Ravens' eight-game winning streak.

A two-run double in the second from senior captain Jason Alexander (Simsbury, Conn.) put the Bulldogs up, 3-1, early in the ballgame, only to see Franklin Pierce reclaim that lead with single runs in the third, fourth and fifth.

But Bryant responded with another two-run frame, when Jeff Vigurs (South Windor, Conn.) posted an RBI double to right centerfield and Nick Campbell (Raynham, Mass.) scored on a fielder's choice after being hit by a pitch to get on base, moving the score to 5-4.

After a scoreless sixth, Franklin Pierce evened the tally in the seventh before giving up the deciding run to Dondero in the eighth.

Alexander led the Bulldogs in Game Two action, going 1-for-5 from the plate with a double and two RBI. Junior Pat O’Connor (Mattapoisett, Mass.) went 1-for-3 with a double and RBI, while Vigurs and Taylor Ferguson (Charlton, Mass.) each chipped in RBIs of their own.

Rookie reliever Mark Andrews (Hillsborough, NJ) picked up the win (1-0) with two hitless innings of work on just 22 pitches (19 strikes), fanning three. Eric Polvani (Wallingford, Conn.) earned his fourth save of the year, tossing a scoreless ninth.

Junior reliever Corey Muscara (0-1) took the loss for Franklin Pierce, surrendering the unearned run in the eighth on one hit with six strikeouts and two walks over 3.2 innings.

In Game One, the Ravens got the scoring going first in the bottom of the second, when Kyle Cabral took a Dan Lozeau (Pelham, NH) offer deep over the left field fence with the bases loaded for a quick 4-0 lead.

Franklin Pierce followed that up with a Scott Savastano homer to lead off the bottom of the third before Luke Cowan (Houston, Texas) came on to replace Bryant's struggling starter.

In the hole five runs, the Bulldogs played small ball in the fourth and took advantage of three Raven errors in the fifth to cut the lead to 5-2 entering the bottom of the inning.

Franklin Pierce would make up one of those runs in the fifth frame off another Savastano lead-off long ball before Bryant tried to mount a comeback in the seventh.

A Vigurs groundout to second scored Campbell from third to cut the home team's lead to 6-3 just one batter before junior captain Pat McKenna (Orange, Conn.) took reliever Mike Adams deep for a two-run home run to left field, narrowing the deficit to 6-5. The shot was McKenna's third of the season.

But the Ravens would tack on another run in the bottom of the seventh, when Jake Christman was given home plate on a Cowan balk for a final 7-5 tally.

McKenna led the Bulldogs in Game One, going 2-for-4 from the plate with a run scored and two RBI. The only other Bulldog with a multi-hit game was Dave Muscatello (Hopkinton, Mass.), who also went 2-for-4.

Lozeau fell to 2-2 with the loss, getting taken for five runs off six hits in just two innings. Adams struck out four and allowed seven hits, moving to 5-0 on the year.

Bryant will be back in action this weekend for a three-game set against conference rival Saint Anselm at the Bryant Baseball Complex. The Bulldogs will play the regularly scheduled home doubleheader Saturday, beginning at 12 p.m. and will host the third game, originally slated to be played at Saint Anselm, Sunday at 1 p.m.

If weather conditions interfere with Saturday's games, Sunday's contest will become a doubleheader and will start at 12 p.m. at the Bryant Baseball Complex.