Roche hits inside-the-park grand slam in game one

RINDGE, N.H. (April 6, 2012) – Sophomore right-hander Ryan Leach (Farmingdale, Maine) threw a no-hitter with 12 strikeouts in the second game of a doubleheader on Friday evening to lead the Franklin Pierce University baseball team to an 11-0 victory over Adelphi in Northeast-10 Conference play at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field. In the first game of the day, sophomore right-hander Kevin McGowan (Nashua, N.H.) threw seven innings of five-hit ball and fanned 11 in a 7-1 win for Franklin Pierce.

With the sweep, Franklin Pierce improves to 19-10-1 (6-2-1 Northeast-10, 3-1-1 Northeast Division). With the losses, Adelphi falls to 11-13 (3-8 Northeast-10, 2-3 Southwest Division).

The story of the twinbill would be the work of the Ravens' pitching staff. In the first game, McGowan went seven strong innings, allowed just one run on five hits, did not issue a walk, hit a batter and struck out a career-best 11 on the way to the win (2-1). He did not allow a baserunner through the first 3.1 innings, struck out the side in the fifth and struck out two batters in an inning on two other occasions.

As if that wasn't good enough, Leach went a couple notches better to earn the win (5-1) in the second game. He did not allow a hit in his first career complete game, and thus his first career shutout. Leach recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts, walked two, hit a batter and faced just two over the minimum thanks to a second-inning double play.

It was the seventh no-hitter in Franklin Pierce history, as well as the fifth thrown by the Ravens against Division II competition. It marks the third no-hitter in four years for Franklin Pierce, which last saw a no-no on March 15, 2010, when Jose Macias also struck out 12 in a no-hitter against Saint Michael's in Lantana, Fla. Before that, Mike Adams and Kyle Vazquez combined to no-hit Dowling on the road on Feb. 21, 2009.

It is the first no-hitter by a Raven at Pappas Field, which opened its gates for the first time in 2005. It is also believed to be the first no-hitter ever thrown by a Franklin Pierce pitcher at home in Rindge, though a 2000 no-hitter by Michael Robertson occurred on a date that could not be verified at press time.

In the first game, the Ravens opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the first inning. Senior designated hitter Dan Hennigan (Downingtown, Pa.) led off the inning with a walk and moved to third on a base hit through the left side of the infield by graduate student center fielder James Roche (Arlington, Mass.). Sophomore first baseman Zach Mathieu (Derry, N.H.) was next and hit a high chopper to third that tipped off the glove of the leaping third baseman, sophomore Richard Mejia, for an RBI infield single, as Hennigan came in to score.

Franklin Pierce struck for five unearned runs in the bottom of the second to push the lead to 6-0 and break the game open. Singles by freshman catcher Matt Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.), freshman third baseman R.J. Going (Bay Shore, N.Y.) and sophomore left fielder Calvin Graves (Boston, Mass.) surrounded a sacrifice bunt to load the bases with one out. That turned the lineup back to the top for Hennigan, who lined a ball back to junior right-hander Dillon McNamara on the mound. McNamara juggled and dropped the ball, but recovered with enough time to throw out Walsh at the plate by a wide margin. However, freshman catcher Rich Cambria muffed the throw while attempting to hasten his throw to first base for a potential double play, allowing the run to score. After a popped up squeeze attempt resulted in the second out, Roche came to the plate and lifted what could have been an inning-ending flyball to right field. Senior right fielder Justin Farnum lost the ball in the sun, and the ball dropped untouched and skipped away into the right-field corner, winding up as an inside-the-park grand slam for Roche's fifth home run of the season.

The Ravens tacked on another run in the bottom of the third to push the lead to 7-0. Junior right fielder Nick LaCroix (Grafton, Mass.) started things by poking a lead-off double inside the bag at first base and down the right-field line. He moved to third on a groundout to second by Walsh and scored on an RBI single up the middle, through the drawn in infield, by junior second baseman Anthony Peguero (Hyde Park, Mass.).

Adelphi picked up its only run of the game in the top of the seventh to create the 7-1 final. Leading off the inning, senior right fielder Justin Farnum crushed a ball to right-center for his first home run of the season.

McNamara started and suffered the loss (1-2) on the hill for Adelphi. Over six innings, he surrendered seven runs (two earned) on 11 hits, walked three and struck out three.

In the second game, Franklin Pierce got the only offense Leach would need right out of the gate with three runs in the bottom of the first. Hennigan opened the game with a walk again, moved to second on a groundout and scored on a line-drive single into left-center by Roche. After Roche was caught stealing, Mathieu hammered a triple into the gap in right-center, past a diving Nick Zito, Adelphi's junior center fielder. Mathieu would score on an RBI single to right-center by LaCroix, who would steal second and score on a single to left-center by Walsh.

The Ravens added a run in the bottom of the second to push the lead to 4-0. Hennigan started things again, this time with a single past the pitcher, back up the middle and into center field. He would come all the way around to score from first on Franklin Pierce's second triple in as many innings, this one also into right-center, by Kemp.

Three more runs for Franklin Pierce in the bottom of the fourth extended the lead to 7-0. Going was hit by a pitch and Graves reached on an infield single to start the inning before a sacrifice bunt moved the runners up. That brought Kemp back to the plate, and he turned on a pitch to club a three-run home run to left field, his third of the season.

The Ravens tacked on single runs in the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings, as well as two runs in the eighth, to create the 11-0 final. In the sixth, Roche led off the inning and hit his second home run of the day, this one out of the park, the other way to right field. In the seventh, senior pinch hitter Dan Poirier (Lunenburg, Mass.) reached on a single and scored on an RBI single to right by Hennigan. In the eighth, freshman second baseman Dan Carroll (Tinton Falls, N.J.) hit an RBI double down the left-field line and Poirier knocked an RBI single back up the middle.

Junior right-hander Jimmy Milani started and took the loss (1-5) in the second game for Adelphi. Over 3.2 innings, he was knocked around for seven runs on nine hits, walked three, hit a batter and struck out two.

The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, April 7, when they remain home to host Pace in a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for noon at Pappas Field.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics).