Jabs drives home three

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (February 23, 2014) – Junior right-hander Brendan O'Rourke (Shrewsbury, Mass.) fired seven shutout innings and struck out a career-best 12 on Sunday morning to lead the way for the No. 7/12 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team in a 7-3 win over Nyack at The Ripken Experience. The game capped Franklin Pierce's five-game, opening-weekend swing through Myrtle Beach.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 4-1 (0-0 Northeast-10), while Nyack falls to 0-4 (0-0 Central Atlantic). It is the fourth straight season the Ravens have opened with five games in Myrtle Beach; the team is 13-2 over 15 games at The Ripken Experience.

The Ravens opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the first inning. Senior right fielder Calvin Graves (Boston, Mass.) led off with a single and moved to second when junior center fielder John Razzino (Cranston, R.I.) followed with a single of his own. After a walk loaded the bases, Graves was erased at the plate on a fielder's choice, while Razzino moved to third and the bases remained loaded. Freshman third baseman Jay Jabs (Schwenksville, Pa.) was next and lifted a sacrifice fly to center to pick up his first of three runs batted in on the day.

An unearned run in the second pushed the lead to 2-0. With one out, junior second baseman Josh Rouse (Milford, Conn.) worked a walk, moved to second on a single by sophomore shortstop Justin Brock (Latham, N.Y.) and took third as Graves bounced into a fielder's choice which saw Brock erased at second. Rouse would later score on a passed ball.

Meanwhile, O'Rourke was having his way with the Nyack lineup, as he did not allow a runner past second base over his seven innings on the hill. He set the tone early, by striking out the side in order in the first on his way to seven strikeouts through the first four innings. After stranding runners at first and second in the fourth, O'Rourke retired nine of the 10 batters who came to the plate over his final three innings and added five more strikeouts. The 12 whiffs doubled his previous career high; O'Rourke finished his first season as a Raven with 18 strikeouts in 17 innings a year ago.

In all, he allowed just two hits and two walks, while also hitting two batters, on his way to the win (1-0). Later, junior right-hander Doug Willey (Shelburne, N.H.) took over with two outs and the tying run on second in the top of the eighth inning. He struck out the first man he faced to end the threat and also worked the ninth to end up with his second save of the weekend after Franklin Pierce broke the game open in the bottom of the eighth.

After O'Rourke's day wrapped up, the Ravens added a run in the bottom of the seventh to push the lead to 3-0. Senior designated hitter Marty Dunlap (Dorchester, Mass.) led off with a single and was replaced by junior pinch runner Ryan Boswell (New Bedford, Mass.), who stole second and moved to third on a passed ball. Boswell would score two batters later on a sacrifice fly to left by Rouse.

Nyack struck for its first run of the day in the top of the eighth to cut the gap to 3-1. With one out, senior pinch hitter Eric Roe started things with a single. He was lifted for junior pinch runner Phil Erwin, who moved to second on a single by junior center fielder John Kennedy, went to third on a walk to senior left fielder Jan-Pierre Crespo and scored on a wild pitch.

A quartet of insurance runs for Franklin Pierce in the bottom half of the eighth took much of the drama out of the ninth inning. Graves led off with a double and stole second. Two batters later, junior catcher Matt Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.) was hit by a pitch in front of sophomore first baseman Matt O'Herron (Springfield, Mass.), who clubbed an RBI double which also moved Walsh around to third. Jabs made it back-to-back run-scoring doubles, as he followed with a two-bagger to score both Walsh and O'Herron. Junior pinch hitter Rob Chooljian (Hampton, N.H.) capped off the inning's scoring with the third straight hit, an RBI single to bring home Jabs.

Nyack came up with two runs in the top of the ninth to create the 7-3 final, but could not dig itself out of what was now a six-run hole. With one out, sophomore second baseman Josh Brunvoll reached on an error and came all the way around to score on an RBI double by freshman first baseman Jack Hudak. Hudak later moved to third on a single by Erwin, who had stayed on as the third baseman, and later scored on an RBI single by Crespo.

Junior right-hander Cole Tobin took the mound and threw the first seven innings for Nyack on Sunday. He allowed three runs (one earned) on five hits, walked two, threw a wild pitch and struck out two while taking the loss (0-1).

The Ravens are currently scheduled to return to the field on Friday, Feb. 28, for the first game of a three-game, non-conference series at St. Thomas Aquinas. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Dutchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls, N.Y. Any potential schedule changes due to field conditions will be announced as they become available.

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).