Mathieu, Kemp Hit Long Balls, Offense Bangs Out 32 Hits as No. 30 Baseball Posts Record-Tying Sweep of New Haven, 18-9 and 15-6

Razzino has six hits, scores four, drives in six

RINDGE, N.H. (April 7, 2013) – After a 18-9, 15-6 doubleheader sweep of New Haven in non-divisional Northeast-10 Conference play on Sunday afternoon at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field, the No. 30 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team has won the first 12 games of a 13-game homestand which began on March 23. The 12 consecutive wins match a program record, which was previously set on four different occasions. Franklin Pierce will have a chance to break the record and complete the sweep of the homestand on Wednesday, April 10 against Southern New Hampshire at 3:30 p.m.

With the wins, Franklin Pierce improves to 22-9 (12-0 Northeast-10, 5-0 Northeast Division), while New Haven falls to 16-8 (9-4 Northeast-10, 4-1 Southwest Division). The Ravens most-recent 12-game winning streak came from March 28 through April 11, 2007. It was the second 12-game run of the season, as they also won a dozen in a row from March 4 through March 19 of that campaign. The year before, Franklin Pierce shook hands in victory 12 straight times from Feb. 18 through March 19, while the remaining streak came from April 16 through April 25 in 2004.

In addition, the 33-run output on Sunday pushes the team's four-game total to 52, after plating 19 runs in Saturday's sweep of Southern Connecticut State. It does not require nearly as much record-book checking to find the last time that feat was accomplished, as the Ravens did so just last year, plating 54 over four games: a doubleheader split with Bentley and consecutive wins over Southern New Hampshire and Stonehill. Franklin Pierce fell to Bentley, 17-8 before beating the Falcons, 9-2, and then downed SNHU by a 10-9 score and Stonehill by a 27-11 margin.

Trailing 3-2 early in the first game, the Ravens sent 15 batters to the plate in the bottom of the third to score 12 runs on nine hits to break the game open and take a 14-3 lead. After a lead-off single to left by senior shortstop Dan Kemp (Sturbridge, Mass.), junior first baseman Zach Mathieu (Derry, N.H.) unloaded on a 1-1 fastball down the middle to give Franklin Pierce the lead for good. Mathieu's team-leading fifth home run of the season was a two-run shot to left which cleared the bleachers and landed in the parking lot.

From there, a single by senior right fielder Nick LaCroix (Grafton, Mass.), a hit batsman and a single by sophomore left fielder John Razzino (Cranston, R.I.) loaded the bases and chased senior right-hander Frank Vilacha from the game in favor of freshman right-hander Brian Caselli. He immediately walked sophomore third baseman Matt O'Herron (Springfield, Mass.) to force in another run and junior designated hitter Marty Dunlap (Dorchester, Mass.) followed with a two-run single to left. Also in the inning, junior center fielder Calvin Graves (Boston, Mass.) had an RBI walk, Kemp drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, Mathieu drove a two-run double to right-center to go with his home run, LaCroix plated a run with a groundout and Razzino hit an RBI single.

The last time Franklin Pierce scored 12 runs in an inning came at home against Assumption on April 3, 2011, with the Ravens playing as the road team in a doubleheader relocated due to inclement weather. Franklin Pierce plated 12 in the top of the ninth to turn a 6-5 lead into an 18-5 victory. Mathieu hit a home run in that 12-run frame as well, the first of his career during his freshman season.

New Haven opened the scoring earlier in the first game with a run in the top of the first. Senior right fielder Stephen Clout opened the game by driving the fourth pitch to center field. Graves misjudged how hard the ball was hit and started in, only to have it sail over his head for a lead-off triple. Clout scored three batters later on an RBI groundout by junior designated hitter Chris DeMorais.

Franklin Pierce got the run back immediately in the home half of the first, though it squandered a chance for a bigger inning. Graves opened the inning with a line-drive single left. Kemp followed and attempted to drop down a sacrifice, but bunted it straight back to the New Haven pitcher, senior right-hander Frank Vilacha. Vilacha elected to go to second, and would have forced out Graves, but threw the ball in the dirt for an error which left runners on first and second with nobody out. A seven-pitch walk to Mathieu followed to load the bases for LaCroix. LaCroix did get the run home, but did not receive an RBI and short-circuited the rally, as he bounced into a 6-4-3 double play while Graves came in to score.

The Ravens took the lead for the first time at 2-1 with a run in the bottom of the second. Razzino bounced a single through the left side to open the inning and moved to second two batters later on a groundout. He would then steal third and score on the play as the catcher airmailed the throw into left field.

New Haven picked up a pair of runs in the top of the second to take a brief lead at 3-2 before the Ravens broke the game open. With one out, sophomore center fielder Brendan O'Reilly worked a six-pitch walk and went around to third when DeMorais laced a double down the right-field line. O'Reilly later scored on a passed ball which also moved DeMorais to third, and the latter eventually scored on a sacrifice fly to left by senior second baseman Andrew Johnson.

Later, after the big third inning, Franklin Pierce added two runs in the fourth on a two-run home run by Kemp, his second of the campaign to left field. New Haven got one back in the sixth on an RBI single by junior left fielder Kyle Cullen. The Ravens pushed the lead as high as 18-4 with two more runs in the sixth on an RBI ground-rule double by Graves and a sacrifice fly by Kemp.

New Haven picked up two in the eighth and three in the ninth off the Franklin Pierce bullpen to create the 18-9 final. In the eighth, one run came in to score on a dropped flyball, while another scored on an RBI single by O'Reilly. In the ninth, junior right fielder Tim Geer came up with the bases loaded and promptly unloaded them by drilling a three-run double down the right-field line.

Junior right-hander Ryan Leach (Farmingdale, Maine) started for Franklin Pierce in the first game. He labored at times and needed 121 pitches to get through 5.2 innings. Along the way, he allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits, walked six, balked once and struck out seven to pick up the win (3-3).

New Haven sent senior right-hander Frank Vilacha to the mound, but he was not long for the game. Over just two-plus innings, he was tagged for seven runs (five earned) on six hits, walked two, hit a batter and did not record a strikeout on the way to the loss (3-1).

In the second game, Franklin Pierce utilized an enormous inning as well on its way to another blowout victory. With the score tied 1-1 through three-and-a-half, the Ravens sent 14 men to the plate in the bottom of the fourth, collected eight hits and plated nine runs to take a 10-1 lead. Kemp ripped a lead-off double which one-hopped the fence in left field and then Mathieu struck out but reached as the ball was in the dirt while Kemp stole third on the same play. Razzino was next and drilled his second extra-base hit of the game, a two-run double into the gap in left-center to give Franklin Pierce a 3-1 lead. Later in the inning, O'Herron hit a two-run single to center, Graves bounced an RBI single through the left side, Kemp drove in a run with a single to left and sophomore catcher Matt Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.) went the other way for a two-run single through the right side.

Earlier, Franklin Pierce opened the scoring in the second half of the twinbill with a run in the bottom of the second inning. With one out, Walsh knocked a single into right field and trucked all the way around to score when Razzino went with a full-count pitch and drilled an RBI triple into the gap in right-center.

New Haven got the run back in the top of the fourth inning. With one out, Cullen drove a ball into the right-center field power alley for a double and scored on an RBI single back up the middle by O'Reilly. The tie would not last long, as Franklin Pierce broke out its nine-run inning in the ensuing half-inning.

After the outburst, the two teams traded three-run frames in the sixth. For New Haven in the top half, DeMorais had an RBI single through the right side, while Johnson knocked a two-run single to right field. In the bottom half, for the Ravens, LaCroix lined an RBI double over the head of the center fielder and Razzino dumped a two-run single into right-center for his fourth and fifth runs batted in of the second game.

Franklin Pierce capped its scoring with two in the seventh and New Haven created the 15-6 final with two in the ninth. In the seventh, one run scored on an error, while the other came home when Kemp bounced into a fielder's choice. In the ninth, Clout went the other way and poked a two-run double inside the bag at third and down the left-field line.

Sophomore right-hander Brendan O'Rourke (Shrewsbury, Mass.) took the ball in the second game for Franklin Pierce and threw seven innings. He used 115 pitches, allowed four runs on seven hits, walked one and struck out nine to pick up the win (3-0).

Sophomore left-hander Joey Royer toed the rubber for New Haven and didn't fare much better than Vilacha. Over three-plus innings, he allowed eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits, walked one, threw a wild pitch and struck out two while taking the loss (0-1).

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). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce baseball apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).