Covelle fans nine in second game

Box score (Game 1)
Box score (Game 2)

WORCESTER, Mass. (April 19, 2014) – Junior catcher Matt Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.) went 3-for-5 with a home run and a two-run double in the first game and then added 3-for-5 with three doubles in the second game on Saturday afternoon to lead the way as the No. 26 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team cruised to a doubleheader sweep of Assumption in Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division play at Rocheleau Field. Franklin Pierce took the first game, 12-4, before following up with a 10-2 win in the second game.

With the sweep, Franklin Pierce improves to 27-14 (14-6 Northeast-10, 9-5 Northeast Division), while Assumption falls to 13-17 (7-13 Northeast-10, 4-8 Northeast Division). The two wins finished a sweep of the three-game Northeast Division series for Franklin Pierce, which completed its first sweep of a divisional foe thus far in 2014.

In the first game, Franklin Pierce opened the scoring with a run in the top of the second inning. Leading off the frame, Walsh took the first pitch the other way and cleared the 326-foot marker in straightaway right field for a solo home run, his third of the season.

Assumption answered immediately with an unearned run in the home half of the second. Freshman first baseman Mike Coggeshall dumped a leadoff single into right-center field and moved to second as senior designated hitter Michael Smith reached on an infield single. Sophomore catcher Tom Paine was next and hit a ball straight back to senior right-hander Joe Flynn (Plymouth, Mass.). Flynn went to third to attempt to force the lead runner, but his throw was high and pulled freshman third baseman Jay Jabs (Schwenksville, Pa.) off the bag, leaving everybody safe and the bases loaded. Freshman shortstop Matt Murphy followed and wound up with an RBI fielder's choice, as the Ravens could not finish off the back end of an attempted 3-6-3 double play and retired only Paine at second.

The Ravens responded immediately and struck for three runs in the top of the third to jump to a 4-1 lead they would never relinquish. Jabs opened the inning by working a six-pitch walk before back-to-back bunt singles by sophomore shortstop Justin Brock (Latham, N.Y.) and senior center fielder Calvin Graves (Boston, Mass.) loaded the bases with nobody out. Freshman left fielder Chris LaVorgna (North Haven, Conn.) promptly cashed in all three runs as he turned on a pitch and lined a three-run double down the left-field line.

Assumption picked up another unearned run in the bottom of the fifth to cut the gap to 4-2. Paine led off with a single to left field, took second on an errant pickoff throw and went to third on a wild pitch. Flynn issued back-to-back four-pitch walks to Murphy and senior center fielder Bret Clark, which spelled the end of his day after just four-plus innings and 53 pitches. Junior right-hander Doug Willey (Shelburne, N.H.) came on and immediately induced a possible double play grounder, which Brock could not field cleanly at shortstop. The bases remained loaded with nobody out as Paine scored, but Willey followed up with a strikeout and another groundball, which was converted into a double play, to finish the inning without any further damage.

Franklin Pierce sent 12 men to the plate and scored eight runs in the top of the eighth inning to break the game open and push the lead as high as 12-2. LaVorgna and Walsh both had two-run doubles in the inning, with the former driving home his fourth and fifth runs of the game, while Jabs had an RBI single. Sophomore first baseman Matt O'Herron (Springfield, Mass.) drove in a run with a fielder's choice, while one run scored on a passed ball and another came home on an error.

Assumption picked up a pair of runs in the home half of the eighth on a two-run single to right by Paine to create the 12-4 final.

Flynn did not factor in the decision as he left before completing the fifth inning. Over four-plus innings, he allowed a pair of unearned runs on four hits, walked three, threw a wild pitch and struck out two. Willey went the rest of the way to pick up the win (1-1), as he threw 73 pitches over the final five innings. He allowed two runs on seven hits, walked one, hit two batters and struck out four.

Franklin Pierce jumped out front in the second game with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. Graves led off the game with a single to left, moved to second on a groundout and went to third on a single through the left side by junior right fielder John Razzino (Cranston, R.I.). With Walsh at the plate, Razzino broke for second and then Graves broke for the plate as Paine threw down to second. Sophomore second baseman Colin Clancy stepped in front of the bag to cut the throw and fired the ball back to the plate in time to retire Graves on the attempted double steal. Walsh, who served as designated hitter in the second game, finished his at-bat by lining an RBI double the other way to right field to score Razzino. Senior catcher Marty Dunlap (Dorchester, Mass.) was next and put an RBI single into left field to drive home Walsh.

Assumption cut the lead in half with a run in the home half of the first. Sophomore right-hander Paul Covelle (Medford, Mass.) struck out senior right fielder Ysander Figueroa leading off, but the final pitch was a swinging strike in the dirt and the ball got away from Dunlap, which allowed Figueroa to reach on the wild pitch. Figueroa moved to second on a four-pitch walk to Clancy and scored on an RBI single back up the middle by junior left fielder Billy Johnson.

The Greyhounds tied the game at 2-2 with a run in the bottom of the fourth. Coggeshall led off the inning, turned on an 0-1 pitch and hit his first collegiate home run to straightaway right field.

Franklin Pierce took the lead for good with a pair of unearned runs in the top of the fifth to take a 4-2 lead. Jabs reached on an error by Coggeshall at first leading off, before Brock hit a comebacker which could have been a double play. However, the throw to second by sophomore right-hander Ronnie Sampson was errant and left both runners safe and still nobody out. After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third, Razzino beat out a groundball to the shortstop for an RBI infield single. Razzino wound up on second and Brock scored on the play as well, as the throw to first could not be handled by Coggeshall.

The Ravens blew the game open and took an 8-2 lead with four more runs in the top of the sixth. With one out, Dunlap was hit by a pitch and went first-to-third on a single through the right side by O'Herron. Freshman second baseman Kyle Hood (Arlington, Mass.) followed, hit a groundball to third and legged out the back end of the potential double play to pick up an RBI on the fielder's choice as Dunlap came in to score. After just missing a would-be double which landed just foul down the right-field line, Jabs got a bigger piece of a 1-2 pitch and put it over the fence in right field for a two-run home run, his team-leading fifth of the season. Brock got things going again with a single through the right side of the infield and then stole second, but finished the play standing on third thanks to an errant throw from Paine. Graves then went the other way for an RBI double down the right-field line to drive in the run.

Franklin Pierce tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the top of the ninth to create the 10-2 final. Walsh had an RBI double down the left-field line to drive in his fifth run of the doubleheader, while Dunlap added an RBI single to left field.

Covelle logged eight innings and threw 120 pitches on his way to the win (3-2) on the mound for Franklin Pierce in the second game. He allowed two runs on four hits, walked two, hit a batter, threw a wild pitch and struck out nine.

Sampson threw the first six innings on the hill for Assumption. He was tagged for eight runs (six earned) on 10 hits, did not issue a walk, hit a batter, struck out one, threw 90 pitches and took the loss (0-4).

The Ravens return to the field on Wednesday, April 23, when they travel to Saint Anselm for a Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division contest. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at Sullivan Park in Manchester, N.H.

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).