RINDGE, N.H. – Senior Daniel DeCoste (Chelmsford, Mass.) hit a grand slam to cap an eight-run eighth inning that led the Saint Anselm College baseball team to a 10-5 victory against 15th-ranked Franklin Pierce University on Wednesday evening at Pappas Field in the team's regular-season finale.
The Hawks, who have won eight of their last 10, close out their regular season with a 26-21-2 record, including 14-6-1 in Northeast-10 Northeast Division play. The Ravens drop to 31-14-1, 12-5-1. The Hawks, who went 2-0-1 against the Ravens this season, will clinch the Northeast Division with one Franklin Pierce loss over their final three games at Saint Michael's College. The two teams will meet once Thursday and twice Saturday. The Hawks can finish no worse than second and will host a first-round game at Sullivan Park on Tuesday, May 8 against either Bentley University, Southern New Hampshire University, Stonehill College or the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Franklin Pierce put four on the board in the first against Saint Anselm starter, senior Neil Hesek (Northboro, Mass.). James Roche's one-out double staked the Ravens to a 1-0 lead before Nick LaCroix's two-run single through the right side expanded the lead to three. Isaac Wenrich's RBI groundout to second made it 4-0.
Hesek recorded a quick out in the third and then loaded the bases before being pulled in favor of senior Timothy Cooney (E. Bridgewater, Mass.). Anthony Peguero flied out to center to push the lead to 5-0 and Cooney got Graves to ground to first to end the inning.
The Hawks jumped on the board in the fourth when DeCoste walked and scored when sophomore Dan Lagasse (Londonderry, N.H.) followed with a double to right-center. After freshman Mike Hayden (Cranston, R.I.) moved Lagasse to third with a fly ball to right, a balk by Franklin Pierce starter Vladimir Camacho plated Lagasse and sliced the deficit to 5-2.
The game stayed that way until Saint Anselm's big eighth inning. After DeCoste led off by grounding out to third, Lagasse walked and moved to second when Hayden reached on a fielder's choice. Sophomore Nate Gonya (Wolfeboro, N.H.) then walked to load the bases. Camacho exited at that point as Kevin McGowan came in and Lagasse scored on a passed ball.
Senior Jeffrey Criscuolo (Durham, Conn.) trimmed the deficit to one with an RBI single that scored Hayden. After McGowan recorded the second out of the frame, he issued a walk to sophomore Tito Lluberes (Lawrence, Mass.) that loaded the bases. McGowan then hit junior Richie Manzi (Plymouth, N.H.) to bring the tying run across the plate.
T.J. Ferguson relieved McGowan and promptly walked junior Robert Kelly (Aurora, Colo.) to give the Hawks a 6-5 lead. Then came the big blow, with DeCoste driving a grand slam out to left that made it 10-5. Ferguson then induced a groundout off the bat of Lagasse to end the inning.
Cooney allowed a hit in the eighth and ninth, but the Ravens never threatened.
Cooney (3-1) tossed 6.2 shutout innings, allowing four hits, while striking out seven and walking one. Cooney has now thrown 18.2 consecutive scoreless innings. Hesek went 2.1, giving up five runs on six hits and three walks.
DeCoste, Gonya and Manzi each went 1-for-3. DeCoste homered, drove in four runs and scored twice, while Gonya scored a run and Manzi collected an RBI and scored. Lagasse, Criscuolo and Lagasse were all 1-for-4. Lagasse drove in a run and scored twice, Criscuolo drove in a run and crossed the plate once and Lluberes also scored a run. Hayden was 1-for-5 with a run.
Camacho worked the first 7.1, giving up five runs on four hits, while striking out five and walking seven. McGowan relinquished three runs on a hit, while striking out one and walking one over 0.1 innings. Ferguson also went 0.1 innings and gave up two runs on two hits and a pair of walks.
The playoff picture could become a bit clearer Thursday, but the Hawks will know their seeding by Saturday night and will know their first-round opponent by Sunday afternoon.
