Game set for June 4 in Brockton, Mass. at 7 p.m.

NEIBA All-Star Game Roster

RINDGE, N.H. (June 1, 2009) – Six members of the Franklin Pierce University baseball team have been named to the College Division Team at the 35th Annual New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association New England College Baseball All-Star Game. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 4 at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton, Mass.

Senior left-hander Tom Cote (Swanzey, N.H./Univ. of Massachusetts), freshman catcher Mike Dowd (East Bridgewater, Mass./Cardinal Spellman), sophomore designated hitter Derek Ingui (Sterling, Mass./Wachusett Regional), senior left fielder Ted Lerud (Hampden, Mass./Minnechaug Regional), sophomore right-hander Rob Nicholas (Northboro, Mass./Algonquin Regional) and junior right-hander Kyle Vazquez (Berlin, Conn./Berlin) will all represent Franklin Pierce on the College Division Team, comprised of the best Division II and Division III players in New England. They will take on the University Division Team, which is made up of New England’s finest Division I players.

All six Ravens will play in the NEIBA All-Star Game for the first time. The six representatives are the most sent to this year’s game by any school in New England. The rain date for the game is June 5.

Cote and Vazquez teamed up to give the Ravens a fierce one-two punch at the top of the rotation throughout the season. Cote finished with a 9-2 record and the nine wins were the most of any pitcher in the Northeast-10. The southpaw currently ranks 21st in the nation in strikeouts (91) and 53rd in strikeouts per nine innings (9.28). Cote finished the season second in the Northeast-10 in innings pitched (88.1), third in opposing batting average (.211) and strikeouts and fourth in earned-run average (1.94). Cote has picked up a trio of All-East Region selections this spring, as he collected First Team honors from Daktronics and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, as well as Second Team honors from the American Baseball Coaches Association. In addition, the left-hander garnered Daktronics All-America Second Team and All-Northeast-10 Conference First Team honors earlier this spring.

Dowd, a true freshman, led the Ravens in hitting by 24 points this season, with a .380 batting average (78-for-205) which was also good for fourth in the Northeast-10 Conference. He led the Northeast-10 in on-base percentage (.450) and also ranked in the top 10 in the conference in seven other categories. Dowd finished the season tied for second in the Northeast-10 in hits, ranked fourth total bases (116), tied for fourth in doubles (15), tied for fifth in runs scored (47), ranked seventh in slugging percentage (.566) and tied for seventh in runs batted in (43) and home runs (7).

It has been a busy awards season for Dowd, who received All-East Region First Team accolades from Daktronics, the ABCA and the NCBWA, in addition to an Eastern College Athletic Conference Division II Baseball All-Star First Team selection. Furthermore, he was named ABCA East Region Rookie of the Year, ECAC Rookie of the Year and Northeast-10 Conference Co-Freshman of the Year. Nationally, Dowd earned an All-America Honorable Mention from Daktronics after also collecting All-Northeast-10 Conference First Team and Northeast-10 Conference All-Rookie Team accolades for his standout season.

Ingui finished second on the team with a .356 batting average (78-for-219) which put him seventh in the Northeast-10. He led the conference in triples (7) and total bases (134), while placing in the conference’s top 10 in six other categories. Ingui finished the season second in the Northeast-10 in runs scored (53), tied for second in hits, third in slugging percentage (.612) and runs batted in (47), tied for third in home runs (9) and tied for fourth in doubles (15). Earlier this spring, Ingui was selected ABCA All-East Region First Team, NCBWA All-East Region First Team, Daktronics All-East Region Second Team, ECAC Division II Baseball All-Star First Team, All-Northeast-10 Conference First Team and CoSIDA/ESPN: The Magazine Academic All-District I Second Team.

Lerud finished his senior campaign third on the team with a .321 batting average (61-for-190) and placed among Northeast-10 leaders in run production. He finished tied for fourth in the conference in runs batted in (46), tied for seventh in home runs (7) and 11th in total bases (94). Lerud collected ABCA All-East Region First Team, NCBWA All-East Region Second Team and All-Northeast-10 Conference First Team selections earlier this month.

Nicholas served as Franklin Pierce’s top arm out of the bullpen this season and finished the year second in the Northeast-10 with nine saves. Over 36 innings in 22 appearances out of the bullpen, he put together a 2-2 record with a 1.25 earned-run average. Nicholas allowed just eight runs (five earned) on 24 hits, walked 15 and struck out 30, while holding opponents to a .192 batting average. Earlier this month, he was selected NCBWA All-East Region First Team, ABCA All-East Region Second Team and All-Northeast-10 Conference First Team.

Vazquez served as the Franklin Pierce ace all season long, to the tune of an 8-1 record and a 1.93 earned-run average, which was good for third in the conference. Currently, he ranks fifth in the nation in strikeouts (112) and 12th in strikeouts per nine innings (10.8). In addition to earned-run average, Vazquez is also among Northeast-10 leaders in four significant pitching categories, as he finished first in innings pitched (93.1) and strike outs, placed third in wins and ranked fifth in opposing batting average (.217). Vazquez threw three shutouts on the season, including a 10-inning, three-hit shutout with a career-high 15 strikeouts against Massachusetts Lowell on May 2 to clinch the Northeast-10 regular season title.

Vazquez was named Northeast-10 Conference Pitcher of the Year earlier this month and received All-America honors from both Daktronics (Second Team) and Rawlings/ABCA (Third Team). He has also garnered Daktronics All-East Region First Team, ABCA All-East Region First Team, NCBWA All-East Region First Team, ECAC Division II Baseball All-Star First Team and All-Northeast-10 Conference First Team accolades this spring.

The Ravens (37-18) captured their third Northeast-10 Conference regular season title in four years earlier this spring and followed that with their third consecutive Northeast-10 Championship title, which was the program’s fourth in five years. Franklin Pierce earned the second seed in the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship East Regional and hosted an NCAA regional for the fifth consecutive season.