ALBANY – The College of Saint Rose received an outstanding pitching performance on the way to a 6-5 victory against visiting 16th ranked Franklin Pierce in the opener of a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader today at Bob Bellizzi Field at the Plumeri Sports Complex. However, the Golden Knights (7-17/2-6 NE-10) could not overcome four errors in a 9-7 setback in the nightcap.

Junior left-hander David Batchelder tossed 5.0 innings of no-hit relief to lead Saint Rose in the opener. Batchelder fanned five and did not allow a walk, while retiring the final 14 batters he faced in order.

After Franklin Pierce(13-7/3-1 NE-10) rallied from a 4-3 deficit with a pair of runs in the fourth, sophomore left fielder Nick Alexandrovich and sophomore center fielder Jesse Burba stroked back-to-back RBI base hits to make it 6-5 Golden Knights in the fifth. That proved to be enough for Batchelder who allowed only one runner to get into scoring position.

Saint Rose went up 3-0 on a pair of hits in the second, but Franklin Pierce took advantage of three Golden Knights miscues to take a 4-3 lead an inning later. Senior shortstop Zachary Halloran drew a leadoff walk to start the fifth and senior catcher Derek Marshall singled, before junior first baseman Grant Smith sacrificed them into scoring position. One batter later, Alexandrovich and Burba came through with a pair of clutch hits.

Senior designated hitter Paul Partridge, junior third baseman Ryan Burke and Alexandrovich had two hits apiece to lead the Golden Knights attack. Junior third baseman Derek Ingui had a pair of base hits and an RBI for the Ravens.

In the finale, Saint Rose jumped out to a 3-1 lead and came back from a 5-3 deficit with three runs in the sixth, before Franklin Pierce went ahead to stay with four runs, three of which were unearned, in the seventh.

Senior catcher John Cole went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a double and senior right fielder Garret Keenan finished 2-for-4 with a run scoring base hit to pace the Golden Knights. Ingui wound up 3-for-5 with three runs scored and a pair of RBI, while senior right fielder Phil Hendricks finished 3-for-5 with an RBI triple in the decisive seventh. Junior right-hander Rob Nicholas scattered two hits throughout 3.1 innings out of the bullpen.

Looking ahead, Saint Rose has a 3:30 pm non-league home game Tuesday versus St. Thomas Aquinas. Meanwhile, Franklin Pierce is scheduled to host NE-10 rival Bentley at 1:00 pm tomorrow in Rindge, NH.

Box Score - Game 1; Box Score - Game 2