Baseball back on track, win 20th at season's halfway point

When the Franklin Pierce University baseball team came back from their annual spring training trip to Florida, a three win and nine loss performance in the sunshine state was a bad omen. The hitting had stalled at the gate, ruining a number of good outings by Ravens pitchers early on. Now, it seems as though head coach Jayson King and his local nine have figured things out, and are playing the kind of hardball Ravens fans have been accustomed to during his tenure at the university. With just seven wins on their record to start Northeast-10 Conference play in March, the Ravens charged forward and registered their 20th victory on the exact halfway point of their conference schedule on April 14th against Assumption College. "Once a few guys started hitting, other guys began to follow," said head coach Jayson King. "Before you knew it, we had a lineup full of guys doing a good job for us." Senior left-fielder Ted Lerud primarily played as a catcher for the Ravens prior to the 2009 season. But with senior backstop Jacob Ferreira's defensive prowess and the arrival of freshman stand out Mike Dowd, Lerud needed to find a way to stay in the lineup. Lerud converted to the outfield, and honed his skills at the dish, which has landed him the job of cleanup hitter for Franklin Pierce. At the halfway point of the season, he is hitting .290, to go along with four home runs and 19 RBI. "I feel good at the plate," Lerud said. "We are finally playing like we should be, and I'm glad we got our skid out of the way in the early part of the season. Now we can focus on playing well and hopefully moving on to the playoffs in a couple weeks."

Lerud, like many of the devoted followers of the Franklin Pierce baseball team, likes what he sees in his freshman catching counterpart.

"I am proud of Mike[Dowd], and impressed to see him playing so well," he stated. "It's nice to see a freshman step into a big role on the team and not only do okay, but do it very well and with a lot of confidence." Coach King, who most likely played a big role in bringing the youngster to rural New Hampshire, had nothing but good things to say about his starting backstop. "He's done a very good job behind the plate and in the lineup," King said. "He's come a long way since the beginning of the season and is only going to get better." Dowd heads into the second half of Northeast-10 Conference competition leading the Ravens in batting average (.350), coupled with four homers and 24 RBI. While the delayed arrival of Franklin Pierce's offense was welcomed with open arms, it's important not to forget the anchor of the team's season since the start. Ravens pitchers have collectively held opponents to a .227 batting average, registering a cumulative 3.27 ERA, and striking out 310 opposing hitters to date. Unfortunately, the hurling staff has had to adapt to life without their best starter in Mike Adams. Adams left a game earlier in the season in which he appeared to favor his right elbow, and hasn't pitched since. In the meantime, junior right hander Kyle Vazquez has emerged as the team's ace, with his minuscule 1.55 ERA in 10 appearances, an astonishing 79 strikeouts, and a bulletproof 6-0 record. Senior lefty Tom Cote isn't far behind at 5-2 overall, with a 2.27 ERA and 53 strikeouts. With the absence of Adams, Coach King and the Ravens called upon their pitching depth to fill out the starting rotation, inserting Alex Szymanski, a left-hander from Londonderry, New Hampshire. "I pitched alright against Felician in Florida, and was slated for SL (short and long relief) to begin the season," Szymanski said. "Coach put me in there against St. Michael's, I struck out the side twice and he gave me an opportunity to start." In two starts since his six batter, six strikeout performance, Szymanski shut out Southern Connecticut State University through seven innings, and held Merrimack College to three earned runs over six innings during the rubber match of a three game series. In both appearances, Szymanski earned the win. "Szymanski has done a very nice job for us in his last two starts," stated King. "We are going to rely on him to be a regular in the rotation for the rest of the year and we expect great things." As Coach King alluded to, the Ravens will look to continue their winning ways and methods of doing so from here on out. Given the stature of their pitching staff and success at the plate, there is no reason to expect the Ravens can't make a run for a Division II National Championship again in 2009. Be sure to follow your Ravens baseball team for the remainder of the season at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field here at Franklin Pierce University. If you are unable to make it to the game, local radio broadcasts are available via the Ravens Sports Network on "The Talon" 105.3 FM in Rindge, as well as online at www.wfpclp.com and athletics.franklinpierce.edu.