Ravens finish three-game weekend sweep; look to wrap up Division title next week

RINDGE, N.H. (April 29, 2012) – Junior right-hander Ryan Thompson (Calgary, Alberta) spun eight innings of five-hit ball and struck out eight on Sunday afternoon to lead the No. 21/27 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team to a 17-1 win over Merrimack in Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division play at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field. The win was the 500th career victory for Franklin Pierce Head Coach Jayson King.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 31-13-1 (18-5-1 Northeast-10, 12-4-1 Northeast Division), while Merrimack falls to 17-28 (8-17 Northeast-10, 4-13 Northeast Division). The Ravens are in the driver's seat in the Northeast Division heading into the final week of the regular season. With a win over second-place Saint Anselm on Tuesday night, Franklin Pierce would need just one win in the final three-game series of the year, at Saint Michael's on May 3 and 5, to lay claim to the Division title. Conversely, with a loss to Saint Anselm on Tuesday, the Ravens would need to sweep Saint Michael's.

King, who is in his 14th season at Franklin Pierce and his 16th overall as a college coach, now owns a career record of 500-282-3 (.639 winning percentage), including 479-235-3 (.670) with the Ravens. King began his coaching career with 21 wins over two seasons at Massachusetts Boston.

Merrimack opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first inning. Freshman shortstop Casey Cotter led off the ballgame with a double that fell into no man's land in left field between the shortstop, third baseman and left fielder. He would score two batters later when junior pitcher Joe Mantoni pulled an RBI double inside the bag at third base and down the left-field line. However, it would be the only run of the game for the Warriors, who would later surrender 17 unanswered runs in a five-inning span.

Franklin Pierce tied the game with a run in the bottom of the second. Sophomore first baseman Zach Mathieu (Derry, N.H.) hit a ball deep in the hole at shortstop and legged out in infield single. He moved to second on a wild pitch and scored three batters later on a broken-bat single into center by senior designated hitter Isaac Wenrich (Westlawn, Pa.).

The Ravens jumped out to a 4-1 lead with three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Mathieu started the inning with a line-drive single the other way to right field. He moved to second on a groundout, went to third on a wild pitch and scored when freshman catcher Matt Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.) chopped an RBI single back up the middle. Wenrich followed and clubbed a double into the gap in right-center to push Walsh to third. Two batters later, a single through the right side by sophomore left fielder Calvin Graves (Boston, Mass.) scored Walsh, and Wenrich later scored on a wild pitch.

Franklin Pierce broke the game wide open with six runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to run the lead all the way to 10-1. Mathieu drove an RBI triple off the glove of the diving left fielder deep in the gap in left-center and junior shortstop Dan Kemp (Sturbridge, Mass.) added an RBI double to right-center. Also in the inning, junior right fielder Nick LaCroix (Grafton, Mass.), Graves and senior second baseman Dan Hennigan (Downingtown, Pa.) all had RBI singles, while another run scored on a balk.

Seven more runs in the bottom of the sixth extended the lead up to 17-1, which would turn out to be the final score. LaCroix had the big blow of the inning with a two-run, line-drive home run to the power alley in left-center, his third of the season. Hennigan hit a two-run double to right-center in the inning, while graduate student center fielder James Roche (Arlington, Mass.) hit an RBI single.

Thompson fired the first eight innings to pick up the win (3-2) on the mound for Franklin Pierce. He allowed one run on five hits, walked one (intentionally), hit a batter and struck out eight.

Mantoni took the ball and the loss (4-4) for Merrimack. Over four innings, he surrendered four runs on seven hits, walked one, threw three wild pitches and struck out five.

The Ravens return to the field on Tuesday, May 1, when they wrap up the home portion of their regular-season schedule with a Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division contest against Saint Anselm. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Pierce Pride Night 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).