Ravens junior lefthander stars for Lowell All-Americans out of the bullpen

RINDGE, N.H. (July 23, 2008) – Franklin Pierce University junior lefthander Alex Szymanski (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) has been named the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) Pitcher of the Week for the week ending Sunday, July 20.

Szymanski turned in two strong outings for his summer league club, the Lowell All-Americans last week. He posted a combined seven innings of scoreless relief as he retired 21 of the 24 batters he faced in the two appearances, allowing just two hits and a walk with six strikeouts.

Szymanski earned a win in Lowell’s 5-4 comeback win over the Danbury (Conn.) Westerners on July 14 when he entered the game with the All-American’s trailing 4-2 and tossed five innings of one-hit shutout relief, striking out five and walking one to give his club a comeback opportunity. He tossed two innings of one-hit shutout relief in a 12-2 win over the Manchester (Conn.) Silkworms, striking out one and walking none.

Szymanski has made ten appearances, one start, this summer for Lowell and has posted a 1-1 record and 5.71 earned run average with 16 strikeouts and seven walks over 17.1 innings pitched. He made 11 appearances, all relief, for the All-Americans in 2007 and posted a 2-1 record and 3.50 ERA with 20 strikeouts and just five walks over 18.0 innings.

Szymanski made nine appearances, one start, for Franklin Pierce this spring after returning midseason from an injury. He was 1-0 with a save and 4.85 ERA, 20 strikeouts and seven walks over 29.2 innings pitched. In 2007, the Northern Essex Community College transfer made ten appearances, three starts, for the Ravens and posted a 4-1 record and 1.59 ERA with 24 strikeouts and seven walks over 34.0 innings.

Franklin Pierce (43-15, 20-10 NE-10), ranked eighth in the final pingbaseball.com Division II poll, 18th in the final Collegiate Baseball magazine rankings and 20th in the NCBWA national poll, captured its third straight NCAA Division II Northeast Regional title this spring, advancing to the Division II Baseball Championships for the fourth time in program history. The Ravens reached the 40-win plateau for the third straight year and had 30-plus wins for the seventh straight season. The Ravens also won the NE-10 Tournament championship for the second straight year and the third time in four seasons.