Walsh, Razzino homer

RINDGE, N.H. (April 2, 2015) – Sophomore second baseman Kyle Hood (Arlington, Mass.) hit a sharp line drive to right which sailed over the head of Stonehill sophomore right fielder Ben Monte -- who misjudged the liner -- for a game-winning single on Thursday afternoon, as the No. 5/5 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team picked up a 6-5, 11-inning win in Northeast-10 Conference, Northeast Division play at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field. Stonehill junior left fielder Brian Campbell hit a two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning to force extra innings.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 24-2 (6-1 Northeast-10, 4-1 Northeast Division) and has now won five in a row, while Stonehill falls to 15-5-1 (3-1 Northeast-10, 3-0 Northeast Division).

Trailing 5-3 heading to the ninth, Stonehill set about tying the game in the top half of the inning. With one out, senior second baseman Christian Baglini singled through the left side and moved to second on a wild pitch. Campbell was next, got a 2-2 pitch on the inner half and turned on it. The towering fly ball turned into a home run of an estimated 345 feet to straightaway right field, his first of the season.

After the Ravens went in order in the ninth, both teams went in order in the 10th and Stonehill went in order again in the 11th, Franklin Pierce plated the game-winning run in the home half of the 11th. With one out, sophomore designated hitter Chris LaVorgna (North Haven, Conn.) was hit by a pitch. Freshman right-hander Michael Young was on the mound for Stonehill, and he never took a look at LaVorgna, who got a huge jump and stole second without a throw on the first pitch to Hood. Two pitches later, Hood went the other way with a 1-1 pitch and hit a hard line drive to right field. With LaVorgna running from second on the pitch, it briefly looked like a surefire double play, but Monte misjudged the ball and broke in. By the time he recognized the ball's trajectory, it was too late; the line drive sailed over his outstretched hand as he jumped, LaVorgna trotted around to score and the Ravens picked up the 6-5 win on Hood's RBI single.

Earlier in the day, Franklin Pierce opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the first. Junior center fielder Maxx Sheehan (San Jose, Calif.) led off with a walk, stole second, stole third on a failed pickoff attempt and scored on an RBI groundout by senior right fielder John Razzino (Cranston, R.I.).

The Ravens doubled the lead to 2-0 with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Senior catcher Matt Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.) was next, got a 2-0 pitch to his liking and hit a moonshot of a home run just to left of straightaway center field, his third of the season. The estimated distance on the solo shot was 410 feet, as the ball one-hopped up against the new clubhouse currently under construction beyond the center field fence.

Franklin Pierce pushed the lead as high as 4-0 with a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. With two outs and nobody on, sophomore third baseman Jay Jabs (Schwenksville, Pa.) hit a grounder to shortstop. Senior shortstop Dan Fratus fielded cleanly, but his throw to first base was low and could not be handled by sophomore first baseman Eddie Bowler, which allowed Jabs to reach on the error. The error proved costly, as Razzino turned on a 2-0 pitch and hit a line drive which narrowly cleared the fence down the left-field line for a home run of an estimated 335 feet, his third of the season.

Stonehill closed the gap to 4-3 with a trio of runs in the top of the sixth inning. Sophomore third baseman Steve Lee led off with a single to left field, stole second and wound up on third on the play, as Walsh's throw escaped into center field. After a walk to Bowler put runners at the corners with one out, Lee scored on an RBI single through the right side by Monte. With runners at first and second and one out, junior center fielder Chris Hoyt chopped the ball back to sophomore right-hander Mike Lundin (Kingston, Mass.) for what could have been an inning-ending double play. Instead, Lundin delivered the ball on-target to second base, but miscommunication from the middle infield caused the ball, Hood and junior shortstop Justin Brock (Latham, N.Y.) to all arrive at the bag at the same time. Despite the collision, Hood was able to catch the ball for the force out, but Hoyt reached on the fielder's choice. Stonehill capitalized immediately, as Baglini drove the first pitch of his at-bat into the gap in left-center for a two-run double.

Franklin Pierce pushed the lead back up to 5-3 with a run in the bottom of the seventh before the late-inning dramatics. Junior left fielder Kurtis White (Nahant, Mass.) led off with an infield single, as his grounder to first took a tough hop, came up, hit Bowler in the shoulder and deflected away. White moved to second on a passed ball, took third on a wild pitch and scored when Jabs bounced into a would-be fielder's choice, but reached on an error by Fratus at shortstop.

Lundin tossed 102 pitches (63 strikes) over 5.2 innings of work for the Ravens. He allowed three runs on 10 hits, walked three (one intentionally), struck out eight and did not factor in the decision. After retiring all four batters he faced while recording the final out of the 10th and retiring the side in order in the 11th, senior right-hander Travis Landry (Loudon, N.H.) earned his second win (3-0) in as many days out of the bullpen.

Senior right-hander Armand Rugel started for Stonehill and also did not factor in the decision after throwing 96 pitches (55 strikes) over 6.1 innings. He surrendered five runs (three earned) on five hits, walked three, threw a wild pitch and struck out three. Young worked the final four innings, allowed one run on just the Hood game-winning single, did not issue a walk, hit a batter and struck out four, but was still stuck with the loss (1-1).

The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, April 4, when they remain home to finish up the three-game, Northeast-10 Conference, Northeast Division series with Stonehill. First pitch of the doubleheader is set for noon at Pappas Field.

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).