Griffin Goes Eight, Five-Run Third Sparks No. 3/4 Baseball in 7-3 Win at Mount Olive

Jabs, Brock score twice, LaVorgna drives home pair

MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. (March 14, 2016) – A five-run third inning for the No. 3/4 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team buoyed senior left-hander Gage Griffin (Moosup, Conn.) on Monday night in the highest-profile start of his career thus far. The Ravens used the quintet of runs in the frame and eight solid innings from Griffin to take to the road and deal Mount Olive a 7-3 loss in non-conference play at Scarborough Field.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 13-1, while Mount Olive -- a member of Conference Carolinas -- falls to 9-10. The two teams will wrap up their brief, two-game series on Tuesday night at Scarborough Field. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.

The five-run top of the third inning were the first runs of the game on Monday night, as the Ravens staked Griffin to a 5-0 lead after he worked out of a first-and-third situation in the bottom of the second. In the third, sophomore catcher Christopher Stanford (Quebec City, Quebec) led off with a bunt single and moved around to third as senior shortstop Justin Brock (Latham, N.Y.) followed with a double the other way down the right-field line. Senior center fielder Maxx Sheehan (San Jose, Calif.) was next and put an RBI single back through the middle to score Stanford and move Brock around to third. After a walk to graduate student left fielder Matt Burns (Parkland, Fla.) loaded the bases, junior third baseman Jay Jabs (Schwenksville, Pa.) pulled an RBI single into right field to score Brock. Senior right fielder Max DiTondo (Marshfield, Mass.) followed and worked an eight-pitch walk to force home Sheehan.

The walk to DiTondo spelled the end of the day for the Mount Olive starting pitcher, sophomore right-hander Ethan Horne, who gave way to senior right-hander Jesse Schullstrom, who was returning to the mound for the Trojans after missing all but three games a year ago due to injury. Schullstrom was greeted rudely by junior designated hitter Chris LaVorgna (North Haven, Conn.), who turned on the second pitch and ripped an RBI single through junior third baseman Derek Deler to drive home Burns. Two batters later, LaVorgna was erased at second, but the Trojans could not double up senior second baseman Kurtis White (Nahant, Mass.), who reached with an RBI fielder's choice, scoring Jabs.

Mount Olive got on the board with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Senior catcher Brett Lang opened the inning by taking a 2-0 pitch down the left-field line for a leadoff double. Lang would remain at second until there were two away, when Deler swung at the first pitch of his at-bat and clubbed an RBI double deep into the gap in left-center to cut the lead to 5-1.

Franklin Pierce responded with a run in the top of the fifth inning to stretch the lead back to 6-1. Jabs singled through the right side of the infield leading off, moved to second on a wild pitch, went to third on a groundout and scored when LaVorgna lifted a sacrifice fly to deep left-center field.

The Trojans cut the gap to 6-3 with a pair of runs in the home half of the fifth. Junior right fielder Duke Hill led off the frame with a single to center field. Junior shortstop Alvin Swoop was next and hit a line drive the other way, which forced DiTondo to range towards the right-field line. With a five-run lead, DiTondo made an ill-advised, diving attempt to catch the ball, but came up empty. With DiTondo laid out, the ball skipped by him and all the way to the wall, allowing Swoop to scamper all the way around the bases for a two-run, inside-the-park home run, his first of the season. Adding injury to insult, DiTondo was hurt on the play and came out of the game, with White moving to right field and junior Kyle Hood (Arlington, Mass.) entering to play second base.

Franklin Pierce tacked on what turned out to be the game's final run in the top of the sixth, creating the 7-3 final. Brock started things, as he was hit by a pitch with two outs, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored when Sheehan turned on a ball and ripped an RBI double down the left-field line.

For his part, Griffin (2-0) fired 114 pitches (68 strikes) over eight innings on the mound for the Ravens. He allowed three runs on six hits, walked two, hit a batter and struck out four.

On the other side, Horne (0-1) departed after just two innings, plus six batters without recording an out in the third. He threw 54 pitches (31 strikes), allowed five runs on four hits, walked three, hit a batter and struck out one.

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).