Audette Drives In Pair Of Runs, Lawrence And Vaughn Add RBI Singles As Baseball Drops 7-4 Decision To 27th-Ranked Franklin Pierce In Title Game Of 2005 Northeast-10 Conference Championships

May 15, 2005

STONEHILL BASEBALL

2005 Northeast-10 Conference Championship

Sunday, May 15, 2005

LeLacheur Park, Lowell, Mass.

FINAL: FRANKLIN PIERCE 7, STONEHILL 4

123 456 789 R H E

Stonehill (27-20) 000 400 000 - 4 10 0

Franklin Pierce (30-12) 110 400 10x - 7 14 3

BATTERIES

STO: Billy Sittig, Joe Breen (8) and Matt Vaughn

FPC: Tyler Cummings, Mike Farrell (7), Eric Grabowski (9) and Matt Anderson

WP: Cummings (6-3) LP: Sittig (9-2)

LOWELL, Mass.-- Junior Shawn Hayes (Charlton, Mass.) and freshman Matt Anderson (Medford, Mass.) collected three hits each, while junior Mike Chambers (Londonderry, N.H.) drove in a pair of runs to lead second-seeded and 27th-ranked Franklin Pierce to a 7-4 victory over third-seeded Stonehill in the championship round of the 2005 Northeast-10 Conference Baseball Championships Sunday afternoon at UMass Lowell’s LeLacheur Park.

The Ravens (30-12) claimed their first-ever league tournament title with the triumph, as Franklin Pierce used a pair of runs in their first two at-bats to take an early 2-0 lead on RBI singles by Hayes and Anderson. The Chieftains (27-20), who advanced to the championship round for the second time in four seasons, rallied to take a 4-2 lead in the top of the fourth, as a pair of RBI singles off the bats of junior Sean Lawrence (New Rochelle, N.Y.) and sophomore Matt Vaughn (Bow, N.H.), coupled with a two-run single by senior Craig Audette (Raynham, Mass.), highlighted the Stonehill rally. Franklin Pierce regained the lead for good in the bottom of the frame with four runs of their own, as sophomore Garrett Olson (Norway, Maine) drew a bases-loaded walk and junior Elliott Shea (Jaffrey, N.H.) forced in another run after being hit by a pitch, and Chambers capped the rally with a two-run single. The Ravens added an insurance run in the seventh on an RBI single by Tournament Most Valuable Player Randy Fenton (Worcester, Mass.) to close out the scoring.

Olson, Fenton and sophomore Vinny Pennell (Spencer, Mass.) each collected two hits on the day for Franklin Pierce, as junior Tyler Cummings (South Paris, Maine) picked up his sixth win of the season on the mound for the Ravens, allowing 10 hits and four runs while fanning three in six innings of work.

Lawrence, Vaughn and senior Tim Flynn (Clifton Park, N.Y.) each had two hits as part of a 10-hit Stonehill attack on the day, as junior Billy Sittig (West Roxbury, Mass.), the 2005 Northeast-10 Pitcher of the Year, went seven inning and struck out four in suffering just his second setback in 11 decisions on the mound this spring for the Chieftains.

Stonehill and Franklin Pierce will await word of possible selections in the NCAA Division II Northeast Regional Championships, as pairings for this year’s championships will be announced later this evening.