RINDGE, N.H. (April 8, 2016) – Senior right-hander Paul Covelle (Medford, Mass.) retired 13 in a row at one point and took a shutout into the ninth inning on Friday afternoon, leading the No. 2/3 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team to a 3-1 win over Saint Anselm in Northeast-10 Conference, Northeast Division play at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field. Senior first baseman Matthew O'Herron (Springfield, Mass.) clubbed a solo home run in the second inning for the Ravens.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 25-2 (7-0 Northeast-10, 5-0 Northeast Division) and has won 12 in a row, while Saint Anselm falls to 6-14 (2-2 Northeast-10, 2-2 Northeast Division).

The Ravens opened the scoring and took the lead for good with a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the second inning. Junior designated hitter Chris LaVorgna (North Haven, Conn.) dumped a leadoff single into center to start things. Two batters later, LaVorgna broke for second, but was picked off as the throw from Saint Anselm senior left-hander Tom Hudon went to first base. However, LaVorgna would wind up safe at second as junior first baseman Nick Bragole threw the ball away and into left field. Senior right fielder Max DiTondo (Marshfield, Mass.) was next and hit a slow roller on the right side, grounding out to second base. He would pick up an RBI however, as LaVorgna broke hard on contact and scored all the way from second on the play.

With two outs and nobody on, O'Herron came to the plate and provided the second run of the inning. He turned on an 0-1 pitch and hit his second home run of the season, a solo shot of an estimated 330 feet down the left-field line.

Franklin Pierce tacked on a run in the bottom of the fifth to push the lead to 3-0. Sophomore catcher Christopher Stanford (Quebec City, Quebec) led off and hit a slow roller on the first pitch, just out of the reach of senior third baseman Paul Trabucco. Freshman Sean Doherty tracked the ball down deep in the hole on the left side, but his throw across the diamond was too late to retire Stanford. Senior second baseman Kurtis White (Nahant, Mass.) was next and pushed a bunt up the third-base line. He would reach with a bunt single, as Hudon, Trabucco and senior catcher Allan McQuarrie had a miscommunication on the play, with none of the above fielding the ball quick enough to make a play to first. After a sacrifice bunt, senior shortstop Justin Brock (Latham, N.Y.) lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to drive home Stanford.

With Covelle at just 91 pitches through eight shutout innings, Franklin Pierce sent him back out for the ninth inning, though Saint Anselm would prevent the complete game and the shutout with its only score of the afternoon. With one out, Doherty started things by clubbing a ball into the gap in deep left-center, which one-hopped over the fence for a ground-rule double. Senior center fielder Ken Morrisino followed with a chopper on the right side. O'Herron came off the bag to field and had plenty of time to flip to Covelle covering with his throwing hand, but instead elected to flip with his glove hand. The flip went wide of the target, allowing Morrisino to reach and Doherty to come around to score.

Trabucco followed with a single through the right side of the infield to move Morrisino to third, put the tying run on base and chase Covelle from the game. Senior right-hander Tanner Bird (Adams, Mass.) took over, struck out Bragole on five pitches and then got sophomore designated hitter Shaine Carpenter to bounce out to shortstop to end the game.

Covelle (6-0) threw 102 pitches (70 strikes) over 8.1 innings on the mound for the Ravens. He allowed one run on five hits, walked two and struck out six on the way to the win. Bird retired both batters he faced, including one strikeout, to notch his third save of the season.

Hudon (1-5) tossed 94 pitches over seven innings on the hill for Saint Anselm. He surrendered three runs (one earned) on seven hits, did not issue a walk, hit a batter and struck out four while taking the loss.

The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, April 9, when they remain home to host Adelphi in a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader. First pitch 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).