Senior southpaw just 12 away from program's career strikeout record

LANTANA, Fla. (March 11, 2011) – Senior left-hander Brian Maloney (Brockton, Mass.) did not allow an earned run and surrendered just four hits over eight innings while striking out 12 on Friday night to lead the No. 4/7 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team to an 8-2 win over Nyack in neutral-site, non-conference play at Santaluces Sports Complex. Freshman first baseman Zach Mathieu (Derry, N.H.) hit 3-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs in the victory.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 8-0 (0-0 Northeast-10). The game was the first contest of the team's 11-game trip to Florida over spring break and the victory extended the program record for most consecutive wins to begin a season. Through their first eight games, the Ravens have outscored their opponents 68-12.

It was the third consecutive stellar outing to begin the season for Maloney, who has reached double digits in strikeouts in each of his three starts thus far. On Friday, he allowed only two unearned runs on four hits on his way to the win (3-0) and issued only one walk to go with the 12 strikeouts. On the season, the southpaw has issued just two walks, while tallying 38 strikeouts. Maloney pushed his career total to 249 strikeouts, which is just 12 behind the program's all-time leader, Mike Adams.

Playing as the home team in the contest, Franklin Pierce opened the scoring with an unearned run in the bottom of the third inning. With two outs, junior second baseman Dan Hennigan (Downingtown, Pa.) singled, stole second and moved to third on a balk before coming into score while senior right fielder Mike Munoz (Bronx, N.Y.) reached on an error.

The Ravens scored another run in the fourth to double the lead to 2-0. Senior designated hitter Derek Ingui (Sterling, Mass.) led off with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice and scored on an RBI single by Mathieu.

Franklin Pierce made it 3-0 with a run in the bottom of the sixth, as junior third baseman Isaac Wenrich (Westlawn, Pa.) led off with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. He would take third on a single by freshman center fielder Calvin Graves (Boston, Mass.) and score on an RBI single by Hennigan.

Nyack got on the board with an unearned run in the top of the seventh inning to cut the lead to 3-1. Freshman second baseman Eric Roe reached on an error by Mathieu, took second on a wild pitch and scored two batters later on a single by senior first baseman Carlos Hidalgo.

Franklin Pierce answered with a run of its own in the bottom of the seventh to briefly reclaim the three-run lead. Sophomore left fielder Nick LaCroix (Grafton, Mass.), playing his first game of the season, started things with a two-out double and scored when Mathieu followed with his second RBI single of the evening.

Nyack picked up another unearned run in the top of the eighth to cut the lead back to 4-2. With two outs, junior left fielder J.D. Calabrese reached on an error by Hennigan and later scored when senior catcher Luis Caceres reached on an error by Wenrich.

Franklin Pierce would then break through with four runs in the bottom of the eighth to put the game out of reach and create the 8-2 final. Sophomore shortstop Dan Kemp (Sturbridge, Mass.) led off with a walk and moved to second on a single by Graves. After a sacrifice moved the runners to second and third, Munoz drove them both in with a two-run single. Munoz then stole second and later scored on an RBI double by Ingui, who in turn took third on a passed ball and scored on an RBI single by LaCroix.

Senior Pierre Crespo started on the mound and took the loss for Nyack. Over seven innings of work, he allowed four runs (three earned) on 11 hits, walked three, hit a pair of batters and struck out three.

The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, March 12 for a neutral-site, non-conference contest against Felician. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. at McCusker Sports Complex on the campus of Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics).