Ravens left to wait for NCAA Championship bid

RINDGE, N.H. (May 7, 2014) – Nine walks and three hit batsmen issued by the pitching staff of the No. 21 nationally ranked and second-seeded Franklin Pierce University baseball team allowed third-seeded Stonehill to plate 11 runs on just eight hits en route to an 11-4 win in the first round of the Northeast-10 Conference Championship on Wednesday afternoon at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field. Senior shortstop Dan Fratus went 1-for-4 for Stonehill with a fourth-inning grand slam which proved to be the pivotal blow of the Northeast Division first-round contest.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 35-16 and exits in the first round for the second straight season, while Stonehill improves to 29-18 and advances to meet the Southwest Division's fourth seed, Adelphi, which blitzed top seed Southern Connecticut State, 10-4. Southern New Hampshire, the Northeast Division's top seed, put away fourth-seeded Bentley, 9-1, on Wednesday and, as a result, will host the weekend portion of the Northeast-10 Championship Friday through Sunday, May 9-11.

Franklin Pierce the top-ranked team in the East Region heading into the postseason, but now must wait until Sunday night's selection show for official word of its selection to the NCAA Championship. The Ravens are expected to earn an at-large bid to the six-team NCAA East Regional field, but had been in line to host the event as the top seed. Instead, the club will sit idle for the remainder of the week while both Wilmington (Del.) and SNHU, the current second- and third-ranked teams, attempt to take over the top position. Wilmington, which has not played since April 30, opens play in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Championship on Thursday. The NCAA selection show will be webcast at ncaa.com on Sunday, May 11 at 10 p.m.

Stonehill opened the scoring on Wednesday afternoon with a run in the top of the first inning. Senior catcher Billy Karalis took a five-pitch walk leading off the game, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, took third on a wild pitch and later scored on a two-out RBI single through the left side of the infield by junior second baseman Christian Baglini.

Franklin Pierce answered with an unearned run in the bottom of the second to tie the game at 1-1. Junior catcher Matt Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.) took an 0-2 pitch the other way for a single into right field leading off the inning, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and went to third on a groundout. Freshman third baseman Jay Jabs (Schwenksville, Pa.) came to the plate with two outs and hit a 1-0 pitch on a line to center field. The line drive hung up in the air long enough for sophomore center fielder Chris Hoyt, who had been shaded into the gap in right-center, to get to it, but he dropped the ball, which allowed Jabs to reach on an error and Walsh to come home to score. Franklin Pierce then loaded the bases with two outs as freshman second baseman Kyle Hood (Arlington, Mass.) reached on an infield single and sophomore shortstop Justin Brock (Latham, N.Y.) worked a seven-pitch walk, but Stonehill junior right-hander Jim Duff got senior center fielder Calvin Graves (Boston, Mass.) to bounce out to shortstop on the second pitch to strand the bases full.

Duff would go the distance on the mound for Stonehill and throw 116 pitches (83 strikes) in the process. He allowed four runs (two earned) -- the most he had given up since April 9 -- and eight hits, walked one, threw a wild pitch, struck out three and rolled up 13 groundouts on the way to the win (8-2) and his third complete game of the season.

In contrast, Franklin Pierce pitching needed 203 pitches to get through nine innings, just 107 of which went for strikes. The Ravens worked from behind in the count seemingly all afternoon, which allowed Stonehill to maximize the damage on its hits. Never was this more evident than the top of the third inning, when junior right-hander Conor Gleason (North Stonington, Conn.) got the first two outs on just six pitches before things fell apart. He fell behind sophomore left fielder Brian Campbell 3-1 before issuing a six-pitch walk, threw four straight balls to Baglini and then uncorked a wild pitch to advance both runners. After a first-pitch strike to junior designated hitter Eric Schneider, Gleason threw three straight out of the zone as part of a six-pitch walk to load the bases.

Fratus came up with the bases juiced and two out, and Gleason threw a first-pitch ball. The 1-0 pitch came in on the hands of Fratus, but not far enough, as he was still able to put the barrel on the ball. Fratus muscled the pitch in the air the other way, for what initially appeared to be a flyball to right field. However, the ball continued to carry and sailed way beyond the fence in right-center field for a grand slam of an estimated 385 feet, Fratus' third home run of the season.

Gleason would be expended after just six innings on the afternoon, as he needed 117 pitches (61 strikes) to record 18 outs. In all, he was charged with five runs on just three hits, issued six walks, threw three wild pitches and struck out 11 while taking the loss (5-2).

Franklin Pierce kept things interesting momentarily with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut the gap to 5-3. With one out, junior right fielder John Razzino (Cranston, R.I.) lined an 0-2 pitch into center field for a single and moved to second as Walsh hit a slow chopper up the third-base line which left no play for the freshman third baseman Steve Lee and turned into an infield single. Senior designated hitter Marty Dunlap (Dorchester, Mass.) was next, got ahead in the count at 2-0 and laced a two-run double the other way into the gap in right-center to bring home both Razzino and Walsh.

From there, the bullpen could not keep the deficit at two, as a walk and a hit batter allowed Stonehill to plate two runs on two hits in the top of the seventh to stretch the gap back to four runs at 7-3. With one out, working against graduate student left-hander Rob Corsi (Oceanport, N.J.), Karalis dumped an 0-2 pitch into center field for a single, though he was forced out at second as Hoyt bounced into a fielder's choice. Hoyt took both second and third on wild pitches before sophomore left fielder Brian Campbell was hit by a pitch and Baglini worked a seven-pitch walk to load the bases with two outs.

Corsi was lifted for junior right-hander Doug Willey (Shelburne, N.H.), as Franklin Pierce searched for what could have been the biggest out of the ballgame. Instead, Willey fell behind Schneider 2-0 before the latter took a 3-1 pitch back up the middle for a two-run single.

The Skyhawks turned the game into a blowout with four runs in the top of the ninth inning to push the lead as high as 11-3. Now working against senior right-hander Ryan Leach (Farmingdale, Maine), Campbell opened the inning with a single through the left side, stole second and later scored on a one-out RBI single to right-center by Schneider, who then moved to second on a wild pitch. After a four-pitch walk to Fratus and a strikeout of senior first baseman Anthony Pagano, Leach threw another wild pitch and then hit Lee with a 3-0 pitch to load the bases. Leach was lifted in favor of sophomore right-hander Adam Fournier (Dartmouth, Mass.), who came on to face sophomore right fielder Chris Callahan with the bases full and two out. Callahan put the game on ice by ripping a 2-1 pitch the other way, down the left-field line and into the corner to plate all three runners.

Franklin Pierce picked up an unearned run in the bottom of the ninth on an RBI groundout by Jabs to create the 11-4 final.

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).