McGowan Goes Distance, O’Herron Goes 4-for-4 as Baseball Staves Off Elimination With 8-1 Win Over Pace at NCAA Championship East Regional

Kemp steals home, hits two-run single

MANCHESTER, N.H. (May 18, 2013) – Junior right-hander Kevin McGowan (Nashua, N.H.) scattered nine hits and one run while logging a complete game on Saturday, as the sixth-seeded Franklin Pierce University baseball team picked up an 8-1 game in an elimination contest against fifth-seeded Pace on the third day of the NCAA Championship East Regional, hosted by Southern New Hampshire at Penmen Field. Sophomore third baseman Matt O'Herron (Springfield, Mass.) went 4-for-4, scored twice and drove in a run in the win for Franklin Pierce.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 34-17, while Pace falls to 33-17 and is eliminated. Franklin Pierce fights off elimination and advances to play at 7 p.m. Saturday against fourth-seeded Southern New Hampshire. The game will effectively serve as an East Regional semifinal, as the winner will play for the regional title on Sunday afternoon.

The Ravens opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the first. Pace senior right-hander Neil Pezzullo was wild out of the gate, as he walked junior left fielder Calvin Graves (Boston, Mass.) on four pitches to start the game and followed that by walking senior shortstop Dan Kemp (Sturbridge, Mass.) and hitting junior first baseman Zach Mathieu (Derry, N.H.) to load the bases with nobody out. The inning would end on the next play, but Franklin Pierce would pick up a run as well. Graves came home to score as senior right fielder Nick LaCroix (Grafton, Mass.) bounced into what would've been a run-of-the-mill 6-4-3 double play. Graves took a big turn around third as he looked to score on an errant throw or an unaware defense. However, he slipped while coming to a stop, allowing Pace to throw behind him to complete the triple play.

Pace threatened to even things up in the top of the third, as a pair of singles put runners at first and third with one out. McGowan worked out of the jam by inducing a ground ball back up the middle from senior right fielder Charlie Galasso. Kemp snagged the ball while sliding to a stop behind second base, and then flipped with his glove to freshman second baseman Justin Brock (Latham, N.Y.), who turned it over and relayed to first for the inning-ending double play.

The Ravens capitalized on Pezzullo's continued wildness in the bottom half of the third with three runs to pad the lead to 4-0. O'Herron opened the inning with a line-drive single back up the middle, and then Brock dropped a bunt down the third-base line. Pace junior third baseman Chris Gili had to rush on the play, but failed to handle the ball cleanly in the process, allowing Brock to reach with a bunt single which moved O'Herron to second. Two batters later, Kemp was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and then Mathieu and sophomore catcher Matt Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.) worked five-pitch walks to force home runs on either side of a pop-up by LaCroix. The Walsh walk spelled the end of the day for Pezzullo, as Pace turned to freshman right-hander Josh Garran, who took over with two outs and the bases loaded. Garran elected to work from the windup with the bases full, which would prove to be an ill-fated decision. Kemp, who was at third by now, timed the windup on the first pitch and then broke for the plate on the second pitch, scoring the inning's third run with a straight steal of home.

Three more runs in the bottom of the sixth broke the game open and left the Ravens with a 7-0 lead. Junior designated hitter Marty Dunlap (Dorchester, Mass.) pulled a single through the left side of the infield to open the inning, before sophomore center fielder John Razzino (Cranston, R.I.) and O'Herron both attempted sacrifice bunts but reached with singles to load the bases with nobody out. On the first, Razzino reached when the second baseman was late covering first, while O'Herron reached when Garran slipped trying to field the ball. After Brock struck out for the first out, Graves lifted a popup on the left side. Graves was out as the infield fly rule was put in effect, but Pace senior shortstop Bobby Horn dropped the ball, allowing Dunlap to score and Razzino and O'Herron to each move up a base. Kemp was next and brought home both remaining runners with a line-drive single to right-center.

Another run in the bottom of the seventh pushed the lead as high as 8-0. Walsh led off with a single to left, moved to second on a wild pitch and took third on a flyout to right field by Dunlap. Two batters later, Walsh scored on an RBI single to left by O'Herron.

Pace finally broke through with a run in the top of the eighth to create the 8-1 final. With two outs and nobody on, Galasso bounced a single back up the middle and moved to second on a wild pitch. He would score when senior third baseman Brandon Martineson picked up his third hit of the day by clubbing an RBI double deep into the gap in left-center. McGowan sent down the side in order in the top of the ninth to finish off the contest.

McGowan did not have his best strikeout stuff on Saturday, but didn't need it to finish the game himself and pick up the win (7-1). He allowed one run on nine hits, walked one and struck out four, but perhaps more importantly, he kept the bullpen out of the game. Franklin Pierce has used only four pitchers through three games and will have plenty of fresh arms available with two more must-win games on tap.

On the other side, Pezzullo could not get out of the third for Pace. Over 2.2 innings, he allowed four runs, all earned, on just two hits, walked five, hit two batters and struck out one while being tagged with the loss (6-4).

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).