Crawford tosses three-hitter

RINDGE, N.H. (April 7, 2012) – Sophomore first baseman Zach Mathieu (Derry, N.H.) went 3-for-5 with two home runs and drove in five runs in the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon to lead the Franklin Pierce University baseball team to an 11-2 win over Pace in Northeast-10 Conference play at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field. Earlier in the day, graduate student center fielder James Roche (Arlington, Mass.) went 3-for-4 with two home runs to drive in five as Franklin Pierce posted a 10-1 win.

With the sweep, Franklin Pierce improves to 21-10-1 (8-2-1 Northeast-10, 3-1-1 Northeast Division), while Pace falls to 16-13 (7-5 Northeast-10, 5-0 Southwest Division).

The Ravens finish their seven-game homestand a perfect 7-0, and scored 59 runs on 87 hits over the seven games, hitting .387/.474/.591 (AVG/OBP/SLG) as a team. Meanwhile, Franklin Pierce pitching surrendered just 12 runs (nine earned) on 31 hits while striking out 66 and holding opponents to a .151 average over 59 innings on the week.

It is the longest homestand without a loss for Franklin Pierce since the team swept a nine-gamer at Pappas Field March 28-April 9, 2007. However, the Ravens did win more than seven straight home games just last season, winning 11 in a row at Pappas from April 3-May 19, 2011.

For Mathieu, it is the third multiple-home run game of his career, all coming this season. Roche, meanwhile, hit two home runs in a game for the second time this season and the fifth time of his career.

In the first game, Franklin Pierce opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the third. Freshman third baseman R.J. Going (Bay Shore, N.Y.) led off the inning and pulled a double inside the bag at third and down the left-field line. Sophomore left fielder Calvin Graves (Boston, Mass.) followed and attempted to sacrifice, but bunted the ball straight back to the pitcher. Going broke for third on the bunt anyway and was caught in a rundown between second and third. Though eventually putout, he prolonged the rundown long enough to allow Graves to get around to second base. Graves then stole third and scored on a safety squeeze laid down by senior second baseman Dan Hennigan (Downingtown, Pa.).

The Ravens added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth to extend the lead to 3-0. Roche opened the inning, turned on a pitch and hit a towering flyball down the left-field line that stayed fair long enough to become his third home run in as many games and his seventh of the season. Later in the inning, with two outs, freshman catcher Matt Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.) dumped a single into right-center, stole second and scored on an RBI single to right-center by junior second baseman Anthony Peguero (Hyde Park, N.Y.).

Pace got on the board with a run in the top of the fifth to cut the lead to 4-1. Senior center fielder Patrick Chaputian led off with an infield single behind the bag at second. Franklin Pierce junior shortstop Dan Kemp (Sturbridge, Mass.) made a diving stop, but had no play, as Chaputian picked up the first hit by a Ravens' opponent in 14.2 innings. Chaputian moved to second on a walk, went to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on an RBI groundout by junior left fielder Charlie Galasso.

Franklin Pierce responded with a run in the home half of the fifth to reclaim the three-run lead at 4-1. Going worked a lead-off walk and moved around to third on back-to-back bunt singles by Graves and Hennigan. Two batters later, Roche drove in his second run of the game, as he pulled an RBI single through the left side of the infield.

Another run in the bottom of the sixth extended the Raven lead to 5-1. With one out and nobody on, Peguero turned on a pitch to club a solo home run to right field, his second of the season.

Franklin Pierce broke the game open in the bottom of the seventh, with five runs, to create the 10-1 final. Roche had the big blow of the inning with his second home run of the game, this one a three-run shot to straightaway left field. Junior right fielder Nick LaCroix (Grafton, Mass.) hit an RBI double over the head of the center fielder in the inning, while the fifth run scored via a wild pitch.

Not to be lost in all the offense, graduate student left-hander Jack Crawford (Montgomery, N.Y.) tossed his team-leading third complete game of the season to pick up the win (4-2) for Franklin Pierce. He fired a three-hitter, allowed one run, walked one, hit a batter and struck out six.

Sophomore right-hander Brian Sundberg started and suffered the loss (3-3) on the hill for Pace. Over four-plus innings, he allowed four runs on eight hits, walked one, hit a batter and struck out two.

In the second game, Franklin Pierce opened the scoring with a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the first inning. Hennigan opened the game with a single back up the middle and went around to third when Kemp hit a groundball to short, but Pace junior shortstop Robert Horn threw the ball into the first-base dugout, allowing Kemp to reach at second. An RBI single through the left side of the infield by Mathieu brought home Hennigan, while a sacrifice fly to center by LaCroix scored Kemp.

Pace picked up two unearned runs of its own in the top of the fourth to tie the game at 2-2. Senior second baseman Kyle Turnier led off with a walk and two batters later, junior third baseman Joe Solomeno hit a potential double-play ball to third. However, Going backed up on the ball, then his throw to second pulled Peguero off the bag for a throwing error that left Pace with runners at first and second and one out. Sophomore designated hitter James Pjura was next and drove a double the other way into the right-center field power alley to score Turnier. Solomeno moved to third on the extra-base hit and scored on an RBI groundout by Galasso.

The Ravens responded immediately with two runs in the home half of the fourth to reclaim the lead for good at 4-2. With one out, Walsh bounced a single back up the middle and moved to second on a line-drive single to left by Peguero. Two batters later, after a wild pitch moved the runners up, Graves brought them both home with a single through the middle of the infield.

Two more runs in the bottom of the fifth made it a 6-2 game. With one out, Roche worked a walk, and Mathieu followed with a two-run, opposite-field home run, his seventh of the season to tie Roche for the team lead.

In the bottom of the sixth, a two-run double into the gap in left-center by Kemp stretched the lead to 8-2. Two more runs in the eighth on Mathieu's second home run of the game, this one pulled to left field, created the 11-2 final.

Freshman right-hander Dan Gilchrist (Medford, Mass.) started and picked up his first career win (1-1) in the second game for Franklin Pierce. Over seven innings, he allowed two unearned runs on three hits, walked one, hit a batter and struck out seven.

Pace countered with junior right-hander Edward Byrne, who exited after five innings and took the loss (3-2). He allowed six runs (four earned) on eight hits, walked two, threw two wild pitches and struck out four.

The Ravens return to the field on Wednesday, April 11, when they travel to Southern New Hampshire for a Northeast-10 Conference contest. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Penmen Field in Manchester, N.H.

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).