Camacho, Willey put forth solid outings; Graham closes door in 13th

MANCHESTER, N.H. (May 18, 2013) – With a runner at third and two out in the top of the 13th inning on Saturday night, junior catcher Marty Dunlap (Dorchester, Mass.) ripped a ball on the left side which took an odd hop over the shortstop's head for an RBI single which would stand as the game-winning hit, as the sixth-seeded Franklin Pierce University baseball team posted a 3-2 win over host and fourth-seeded Southern New Hampshire at the NCAA Championship East Regional. Sophomore right-hander Doug Willey (Shelburne, N.H.) logged 3.2 innings of two-hit relief work for the win, and senior left-hander Vladimir Camacho (Jamaica Plain, N.Y.) spun eight innings of five-hit ball to start on the mound for Franklin Pierce in the victory.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 35-17, while Southern New Hampshire falls to 35-18. SNHU will face top seed Wilmington (Del.) in an elimination game at noon on Sunday, after Wilmington routed third-seeded New Haven, 11-0, in an elimination game on Saturday. The winner of the SNHU/Wilmington tilt will meet Franklin Pierce in the East Regional title game at 4 p.m. The win also marked the eighth straight season of at least 35 victories for the Ravens.

With the game tied at 1-1 through nine innings, neither team threatened in the 10th, before Franklin Pierce struck for a run in the top of the 11th. With one out, junior first baseman Zach Mathieu (Derry, N.H.) took a four-pitch walk. Senior right fielder Nick LaCroix (Grafton, Mass.) was next, turned on a 1-2 pitch and ripped a ball towards third base. The scalding shot came up on junior third baseman Riley Palmer, hit him in the head and ricocheted into foul territory down the left-field line for a double which moved Mathieu to third. After a delay to determine if Palmer was alright, he stayed in the game, and then sophomore catcher Matt Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.) was hit by a pitch to load the bases. This brought Dunlap to the plate, and he made his first attempt to be the night's hero by lifting a first-pitch sacrifice fly to right field to plate Mathieu. SNHU freshman right-hander Joe McCarthy then got a flyout to right field by sophomore center fielder John Razzino (Cranston, R.I.) to strand the bases loaded and escape further damage.

The stranded runners proved huge, as SNHU rallied to tie the game at 2-2 with a run off Willey in the bottom half of the 11th. With one out, sophomore first baseman Bryan Toland hit a hard comebacker which Willey knocked down, but had to chase behind the mound, for an infield single. Willey rushed a throw to first in an effort to record the out, but threw the ball away, allowing Toland to advance to second. Freshman second baseman Zach Goldstein was next and was hit by a pitch. It was the start of a momentary lapse of control by Willey, who then walked junior center fielder Brendan O'Brien and senior shortstop Matt Boulter on a combined nine pitches to load the bases and force in a run, respectively. A handful of ball/strike decisions in the sequence were met with disdain by the Franklin Pierce dugout, which felt the strike zone shrunk in moment. Willey had no choice but to regroup quickly, as the walks put the winning run at third with only one out. He got graduate student left fielder Andrew Pezzuto to pop up on the infield and then LaCroix made a sliding catch on a shallow flyball by junior designated hitter Jamie Wollerman to strand the bases loaded in the bottom half of the 11th as well.

Neither team put together a significant threat in the 12th, before Franklin Pierce rallied for what would stand as the winning run in the top half of the 13th. Mathieu worked the count full leading off the frame and ultimately worked a walk against junior right-hander Tyler Gauthier. Mathieu moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by LaCroix and took third on a groundout on the right side by junior pinch hitter Ross Lincoln (Woodstock, Conn.), which brought Dunlap to the plate again. Dunlap fought his way to a 2-2 count this time, and then hit the hard ground ball which hopped over the head of Boulter at shortstop to drive home Mathieu and give the Ravens a 3-2 lead.

O'Brien led off the home half of the 13th with a slow ground ball to sophomore third baseman Matt O'Herron (Springfield, Mass.), who hurried his throw against O'Brien's speed. The throw sailed wide of first for an error, which allowed O'Brien to reach at second. Willey then got Boulter to flyout to deep center, though O'Brien failed to tag up and advance on the play, and then froze Pezzuto with a 1-2 pitch for the second out. Willey had logged 3.2 tough innings by this point, and with the heart of the order coming up, Head Coach Jayson King pulled out all the stops with the season on the line. He had sent junior right-hander Trevor Graham (Sebastian, Fla.) -- who threw a complete game in Thursday's regional opener -- down to the bullpen earlier in the inning in anticipation. King called on the Northeast-10 Pitcher of the Year with two outs and the tying run still standing at second with O'Brien. Graham issued a five-pitch walk to Wollerman, bringing SNHU's biggest power threat, senior catcher Andy Lalli, to the plate. After a first-pitch strike, Graham snared a comebacker from Lalli and tossed to Mathieu at first to send the Ravens pouring out of the dugout in celebration and through to the title game.

The conclusion to the contest came at the end of what was a brilliant pitching duel, despite lapses of control on both sides. Camacho, who was long gone by the time the contest was decided, started for Franklin Pierce and refused to surrender to the SNHU lineup despite facing 35 batters over eight innings of work. He allowed just one run on five hits, issued four walks, hit a batter and struck out three. After junior right-hander Joe Flynn (Plymouth, Mass.) threw a perfect ninth, Willey took over for the next 3.2 innings. He allowed one run on two hits, walked two, hit three batters and struck out four to pick up the win (1-0). Graham got the final out of the night to earn his first career save.

SNHU junior right-hander Derrick Sylvester matched Camacho step-for-step out of the other dugout. He also left with a no decision after logging nine innings for the Penmen while allowing just one unearned run on six hits, walking one and striking out three. McCarthy threw the next three innings, allowed one run on two hits, walked one, hit a batter and struck out three. Gauthier took over for the 13th and allowed one run on two hits, walked one and struck out one while suffering the loss (4-4).

Earlier in the night, the Ravens opened the scoring with an unearned run in the top of the fourth inning. Mathieu led off the inning and hit a sharp ground ball to second base. Goldstein bobbled the ball and then rushed a throw he probably didn't have to rush and threw it away, allowing Mathieu to reach at second on the error. Mathieu moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by LaCroix and scored when Walsh followed with a line-drive, RBI single to right field.

The game stayed 1-0 until the bottom of the eighth, when SNHU rallied for a run to tie it at 1-1. Junior designated hitter Al Stanton led off with a single to right-center and was lifted for sophomore pinch runner Kyle McGinnity to add some speed to the potential tying run. McGinnity moved to second when Lalli followed with a single through the left side. During the ensuing batter, Camacho tied himself up while attempting to execute a pickoff move at second base and committed a balk, which allowed the runners to move to second and third. After a flyout to right field which wasn't deep enough to score the run, Palmer lifted a flyball to center which was, and he picked up a sacrifice fly as McGinnity came home to tie the game. Camacho stranded Lalli at third base by getting Toland to pop up to the second baseman in shallow right field to end the inning.

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).