For Immediate Release
April 11, 2012
Manchester, N.H. – No. 13 Southern New Hampshire University mounted a ninth-inning comeback before walking off in the 12th for a 3-2 victory over No. 29 Franklin Pierce University on Wednesday night at Penmen Field.
With the win, the Penmen move to 29-4 on the season and 5-1 in the NE-10's Northeast Division, while the Ravens fall to 21-11-1 overall and 3-2-1 in the standings.
Freshman Bryan Toland delivered the game-winning, bases-loaded single in the 12th inning for the Penmen, who also got back-to-back RBI singles from Jamie Wollerman and Brendan O'Brien with two outs in the ninth to overcome a 2-0 Franklin Pierce lead.
Prior to that, it had been a pitchers duel between two of the conference's top starting pitchers in a game that saw just combined 14 hits. Franklin Pierce right-hander Ryan Thompson threw six shutout innings and was in position for the victory late, and So. New Hampshire lefty Tim Flight allowed just one unearned run over seven innings of work.
Thompson, a junior, allowed just two hits and struck out seven with four walks in the no decision. Fellow junior Flight scattered five hits and had 10 strikeouts while walking two.
Franklin Pierce's Dan Hennigan and Zach Mathieu both had two hits apiece for the Ravens, while the freshman Toland was So. New Hampshire's only player with a multi-hit game.
Franklin Pierce struck first in the third inning on a theft of home by Calvin Graves, who reached after being hit by a pitch. He advanced to second on a Hennigan single before taking third on a misplay in centerfield, then later scored as part of a double steal with Hennigan swiping second as well.
The Ravens added their second run in the eighth inning after Mathieu singled and later scored on an error.
Prior to its comeback in the ninth, So. New Hampshire's best opportunity came in the fifth when the Penmen loaded the bases against Thompson, but the righty got Kevin Spatkowski to ground out back to the mound to escape the threat.
For So. New Hampshire, the victory marks another great moment this season for a team that won a program-record 25 games a year ago. But by early April this spring, the Penmen had already set a new benchmark for victories in a season after winning 13 straight and 25 of 27 overall to begin the 2012 campaign.
The Penmen, who had never received a national ranking prior to this season, came in at No. 7 and No. 13 in separate national polls this week. For a program that went 7-32 just four years ago, it says a great deal about the role head coach Scott Loiseau and his staff has played in getting So. New Hampshire back on track.
Despite Wednesday night's setback for Franklin Pierce, the Ravens have still won nine of their last 11 contests, of which included a 6-5 walk-off win last week against So. New Hampshire and a no-hit effort from sophomore Ryan Leach this past weekend against Adelphi University.
After being selected atop the Northeast Division in the Northeast-10 Coaches' Poll, the Ravens underwent a five-game slide last month to bring their record to just 10-8 on March 21. But the team's current run of success led to Franklin Pierce being reinserted into the national poll this week at No. 29.
As for Thompson, who was a 36th round pick of the New York Yankees in last year's Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft, he has been brought along slowly this season, pitching just 10.1 innings over four games (two starts) entering Wednesday. Last season, he went 11-1 with a 1.23 ERA in 95 innings, warranting selection in the draft before the 6-3 righty elected to return for his junior season.
Thompson was one of four Ravens selected in last year's draft under head coach Jayson King, who is currently in his 13th season at the helm at Franklin Pierce. King's tenure has included six NCAA berths in the last seven years, five NCAA Regional titles and 21 players picked in the MLB Draft.
Meanwhile, Flight entered tonight's contest ranked third among Northeast-10 leaders in ERA (0.91), third in strikeouts (60) and tied for second in wins (5). His best performance of the season came March 22 against Saint Anselm College, as the 6-4 lefty tossed a complete game, two-hit shutout with 18 strikeouts in a 1-0 victory.
Both So. New Hampshire and Franklin Pierce will meet again next Tuesday, April 17, in Rindge, N.H.
The Northeast-10 is an association of 16 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that is committed to supporting balanced academic and athletic opportunities for more than 5,500 student-athletes. Each year, 4,000 of those student-athletes compete in Conference championships in 23 sports, making the NE-10 the largest DII conference in the country. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the Northeast-10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
-NE-10-
