Pearson drives home two runs

Box Score

RINDGE, N.H. (May 9, 2010) – Junior designated hitter Eric Pearson (Webster, N.H.) went 2-for-2, drove in two runs and scored once on Sunday afternoon as the No. 25/26 nationally ranked and second-seeded Franklin Pierce University baseball team staved off elimination again with a 5-2 victory over sixth-seeded Merrimack on the fourth day of the Northeast-10 Conference Baseball Championship, hosted by Franklin Pierce at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 36-13-1 and advances to this afternoon's championship game against fourth-seeded Stonehill. With the loss, Merrimack falls to 21-19 and is eliminated.

Franklin Pierce opened the scoring with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning. Junior left fielder Mike Munoz (Bronx, N.Y.) led off with single to right field and was erased at second while senior right fielder Phil Hendricks (Pittsfield, Maine) reached on a fielder's choice. Hendricks would score all the way from first on an RBI double into the right-center field gap by freshman center fielder Nick LaCroix (Grafton, Mass.). LaCroix later moved to third on a single and then scored on a sacrifice fly to right by Pearson.

The Ravens pushed the lead to 3-0 with a run in the bottom of the third. Senior second baseman Cody Kauffman (Blue Bell, Pa.) led off, was hit by a pitch, stole second, moved to third on a groundout and scored on a single through the right side of the infield by junior third baseman Derek Ingui (Sterling, Mass.).

Merrimack answered with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth to get on the board and cut the lead to 3-2. With one out, sophomore center fielder Tim Curran worked a walk, moved to second and score on a double into the gap in left-center by junior third baseman Mike Dooling. Two batters later, senior designated Ed Medeiros drove a double into right-center to drive home Dooling.

Franklin Pierce made it a two-run game at 4-2 with a run in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, LaCroix reached on an infield single, moved to second on a groundout and scored on a single into left-center by Pearson, who drove in his second run of the game.

The Ravens added an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh to create the 5-2 final. Pearson singled to left-center and later scored on an RBI single pushed the other way into right field by Kauffman.

Graduate student right-hander Mike Adams (Orchard Park, N.Y.) started and picked up the win (6-1) on the mound for Franklin Pierce. Over 5.2 innings, he allowed two runs on three hits, walked two, hit two batters, threw two wild pitches and struck out two. Senior right-hander Heath Wasylow (Rehoboth, Mass.) threw 3.1 scoreless, hitless innings, walked one and struck out three out of the bullpen to pick up his first save of the season.

Senior right-hander Ryan McNeil started and took the loss (3-4) for Merrimack. In seven innings on the hill, he allowed five runs on 10 hits, walked one, hit a batter and struck out three.