Ravens face elimination at 3 p.m. on Wednesday

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CARY, N.C. (May 27, 2013) – Junior first baseman Zach Mathieu (Derry, N.H.) drilled a two-run double to key a four-run rally in the top of the seventh inning on Monday evening, but the No. 11 nationally ranked and East Region champion Franklin Pierce University baseball team could get no closer than one run in a come-from-behind effort against No. 2/21 and Central Region champion Minnesota State, Mankato. The double made it 6-5 at the time, but Minnesota State would tack on four runs in the eighth to come away with a 10-5 win at Coleman Field at the USA Baseball National Training Complex on the third day of the NCAA Championship National Finals, co-hosted by Town of Cary and Mount Olive College.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 37-18, while Minnesota State, Mankato improves to 41-8. Franklin Pierce will face elimination at 3 p.m. on Wednesday against Grand Valley State, which eliminated Shippensburg earlier Monday with an 8-4 win. Minnesota State advances to the national semifinals and will play at 7 p.m. Thursday against a to-be-determined opponent.

Trailing 6-1 heading to the seventh inning, the Ravens made a game of it with a four-run rally in the top of the seventh to cut the gap to 6-5. The parade of baserunners started with two outs and nobody on, as sophomore third baseman Matt O'Herron (Springfield, Mass.) reached on a fielding error by Minnesota State junior shortstop Todd Standish. Freshman second baseman Justin Brock (Latham, N.Y.) followed with a first-pitch single back up the middle to put runners at first and second. Junior left fielder Calvin Graves (Boston, Mass.) was next and took a 3-1 pitch the other way into right field to score O'Herron and move Brock around to third. The latter would score from there on a full-count, line-drive single to center by senior shortstop Dan Kemp (Sturbridge, Mass.), who drove home the second run of the frame. Mathieu was next and had the big blow of the inning, ripping a double into the gap in left-center to score both Kemp and Graves. A walk put two runners on again, but then sophomore catcher Matt Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.) struck out on three pitches against junior right-hander Chris Williams to end the inning.

The Kemp single had spelled the end of the day for the Minnesota State starting pitcher, senior right-hander Harvey Martin, who threw 94 pitches over 6.2 innings of work. He was charged for five runs (one earned) on eight hits, did not issue a walk and struck out five to pick up the win (9-0).

After Franklin Pierce left two in scoring position in the top of the eighth, the Mavericks broke the game open again with a four-spot in the bottom half of the inning to create the 10-5 final. Standish led off with a single through the left side of the infield and stole second. Junior center fielder Parker Sullivan tried to give himself up to get the runner to third, but reached with a bunt single as the Franklin Pierce defense could not corral the ball quickly enough. Senior second baseman Lucas Skjefte scored both runners when he turned on a pitch and ripped a two-run double -- his second two-bagger of the game -- into the left-field corner. A hit batter, a sacrifice bunt and a walk loaded the bases in front of junior right fielder Scott Lindner with two outs later in the inning, and Lindner knocked a two-run single through the left side of the infield to cap the scoring.

Senior right-hander Mahlon Zimmerman, who had taken over to start the eighth inning on the mound for Minnesota State, got the Ravens in order in the top of the ninth to finish off the game. In all, he threw two scoreless innings, allowed three hits and struck out one while earning his 10th save of the season.

Earlier in the day, Minnesota State opened the scoring in the bottom half of the first. With one out and the bases empty, Skjefte guessed right on a 1-1 changeup, turned on it, and lined it over the left-field fence and onto the grass berm at Coleman Field for his fourth home run of the season.

The pitching staff's command and the defense both abandoned Franklin Pierce in the bottom of the third inning, as the Mavericks plated five more runs to extend the lead to 6-0. The inning started at the top of the order, and Sullivan bounced the second pitch of the inning back up the middle. After a wild pitch moved the runner to second, Skjefte chopped a ball to third, which O'Herron fielded while charging and threw on the run. The throw was low and skipped past Mathieu at first, allowing Skjefte to reach and Sullivan to advance to third. Another wild pitch brought home another run before the Ravens got the first out of the inning, via a groundball which moved Skjefte to third.

The groundout also spelled the end of the day for sophomore left-hander Steve Hathaway (Acton, Mass.) after just 2.1 innings, as he gave way to junior right-hander Ryan Leach (Farmingdale, Maine). The second pitch Leach threw was lined into the gap in left-center for an RBI double by sophomore catcher Nolan Johnson to score Skjefte and close the book on Hathaway, who allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits, walked one, threw three wild pitches and struck out three while throwing 46 pitches and taking the loss (0-3).

Leach did not record an out, as he walked the next two batters after the Johnson double to load the bases, before being relieved by sophomore right-hander Doug Willey (Shelburne, N.H.). The first batter Willey faced would hit into a bizarre play which featured two Franklin Pierce errors and allowed Minnesota State to score the remaining three runs of the inning. Lindner hit a groundball back over the mound which Brock tracked down behind the bag at second base. He flipped to Kemp to force out a runner at second as the runner from third came home to score. Kemp made an ill-advised relay throw to first, which sailed past Mathieu allowing the runner from second to score and Lindner to move to second. When Mathieu retrieved the ball, the runner who had been forced at second was making his way towards the MSU dugout on the third-base side, but it appeared Mathieu thought the runner was in-play, as he fired the ball across to third. O'Herron, who was not expecting a throw, made no play on the ball, and it got away down the left-field line, allowing Lindner to come all the way around to score.

In all, by the time the day was done, Franklin Pierce pitching walked five batters, hit three others and threw four wild pitches, while the defense committed three errors.

Franklin Pierce got on the board with a run in the top of the fifth to make it 6-1 in advance of the seventh-inning rally. Walsh drove the first pitch of the inning the other way into the gap in right-center for a double. Two batters later, sophomore center fielder John Razzino (Cranston, R.I.) lined a single into center to put runners at the corners with one out, and O'Herron followed and bounced an RBI single the other way through the right side of the infield to score Walsh.

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).