Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 RINDGE, N.H. – Transfer pitcher Billy Rogers (Kendall Park, N.J.) turned in his strongest outing of the season out of the bullpen for Felician College, but the Golden Falcons were unable to overcome an early deficit in their 3-1 loss to host Franklin Pierce College in Game 2 of the teams' non-conference baseball doubleheader on Thursday evening at Pappas Field. Franklin Pierce also won the night's opening game, 6-3.
FPU is ranked No. 3 and Felician No. 9 in the most recent NCAA Division II East Region writers' poll, with the Ravens (30-14) also receiving votes nationally. Franklin Pierce has won five of the last eight regional titles.
Freshman right-hander Brennan Price (Middlesex, N.J.) made his first collegiate pitching start for Felician (22-17) in Game 2, a scheduled seven-inning contest. He was given a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Golden Falcon leadoff man Aaron Brill (West Palm Beach, Fla.) doubled to right-center field and came home three batters later on a triple by Joe Petosa (Spotswood, N.J.).
Price (0-1), however, failed to complete the bottom of the first. He issued walks to the first three Raven batters, but was nearly bailed out when two of them were caught stealing. Matt Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.) then reached Price for a game-tying single, and after another base on balls, he was lifted in favor of Rogers. FPU received a go-ahead RBI single from Matt O'Herron (Springfield, Mass.), but Rogers recorded a strikeout to limit the damage.
Felician could muster just one hit the rest of the way off of Raven graduate left-hander Rob Corsi (Oceanport, N.J.) (3-2). Corsi went the distance on a three-hitter with three strikeouts and three walks. The Golden Falcons threatened in only one other inning, the third. Brill reached on a one-out infield single and stole second base. With two outs, Scott De Jong (North Haledon, N.J.) was intentionally walked and Petosa drew a free pass to load the bases. But Corsi induced Price, who remained in the game as the designated hitter, to fly out to right field.
Rogers threw 4 1/3 innings of scoreless, one-hit relief. He struck out four batters and walked none. FPU tacked on an unearned run off of the Golden Falcon bullpen in the bottom of the sixth. The Ravens did not have a base hit after the first inning and were out-hit, 3-2. Brill was 2 for 3 for Felician.
In Game 1, Felician fell victim to a 14-strikeout performance by FPU senior right-hander Ryan Leach (Farmingdale, Maine). The Ravens staked Leach (5-1) to a 4-0 lead after four innings before the visitors pulled to within 4-3 with a three-run sixth. Petosa had an RBI single, and a second run scored on the play on an outfield error. Price capped the rally with a sacrifice fly. But FPU came back for two runs on just one hit in the home half of the sixth.
Leach threw 122 pitches over eight innings, giving up seven hits and three walks. Junior Doug Willey (Shelburne, N.H.) worked around a two-out Jay Collazo (Wall, N.J.) single to retire the side in the ninth and record his 11th save of the season. Sophomore John Holland (Jackson, N.J.) (4-4) started on the mound and took the loss for Felician, surrendering four runs (three earned) on seven hits with two strikeouts in five frames.
Petosa was 2 for 4 for Felician, which committed three errors and left nine runners on base. Kyle Hood (Arlington, Mass.) went 2 for 4 and O'Herron drove in two runs to pace the Raven offense.
