Bats Go Quiet as No. 26 Baseball Falls to Stonehill, 5-1

Ravens and Skyhawks to play twice more Saturday

RINDGE, N.H. (March 28, 2014) – Junior Conor Gleason (North Stonington, Conn.) struck out 13 over a 6.1-inning relief appearance on Friday afternoon, but the damage had already been done, as the No. 26 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team dropped a 5-1 decision to Stonehill in Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division play at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field. Senior right fielder Billy Karalis clubbed a two-run home run as part of a five-run first inning for Stonehill.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 16-10 (3-3 Northeast-10, 0-2 Northeast Division), while Stonehill improves to 13-7 (3-0 Northeast-10, 1-0 Northeast Division). Stonehill played as the home team, as the game was originally scheduled to be held at Lou Gorman Field in Easton, Mass. Franklin Pierce will look to bounce back on Saturday, when the two teams meet again, for a doubleheader to wrap up the three-game series. First pitch is set for 10 a.m. at Pappas Field, with Stonehill again playing as the home team.

Stonehill scored all five of its runs, which proved to be more than enough, in the bottom of the first inning against Franklin Pierce junior right-hander Paul Fahey (Dorchester, Mass.), who failed to get out of the first inning. Sophomore left fielder Brian Campbell worked a lead-off walk and took both second and third on wild pitches. Two batters later, Karalis was grooved a 1-0 fastball and clobbered it to straightaway center field for a long, two-run home run just to the left-field side of the batter's eye. It was Karalis' second home run of his senior campaign.

Junior third baseman Christian Baglini was next and hit a groundball up the third-base line which kicked off the bag for an infield single. Baglini stole second and scored two batters later on an RBI single back up the middle by senior first baseman Anthony Pagano. It was the first of three straight RBI hits for the Skyhawks, as freshman designated hitter Eddie Bowler brought Pagano all the way around from first by drilling a line-drive double the other way into the gap in left-center. Junior catcher Eric Schneider capped the inning's scoring with a double to the gap in right-center which scored Bowler and served as the knockout blow for Fahey.

Gleason took over and walked the first batter he faced, but then got Campbell -- the 10th Stonehill batter of the inning -- on a comebacker to end the frame without any further damage. In all, Fahey was charged with five runs on five hits, walked one, threw two wild pitches and struck out two over two-thirds of an inning and was ultimately the losing pitcher (4-2).

Gleason, a transfer from CC of Rhode Island, was stellar over the ensuing six innings, as he allowed just three hits over a total of 6.1 innings of shutout ball. He did walk four, but piled up 13 strikeouts while throwing 110 pitches.

Unfortunately for the Ravens, Gleason's effort went for naught, as the offense was never able to find its stride on Friday afternoon. Stonehill junior right-hander Jim Duff authored a four-hit shutout, issued two walks and struck out eight while using 114 pitches to finish off the Franklin Pierce lineup and pick up the win (5-0).

The Ravens got their only run of the game in the top of the fourth inning. Freshman third baseman Jay Jabs (Schwenksville, Pa.) turned on the first pitch of the inning and hit a long, solo home run down the right-field line, with the only doubt on the play being whether or not the ball would be fair. Ultimately, the shot stayed fair to become Jabs' team-leading fourth home run of the season.

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).