RINDGE, N.H. (April 30, 2016) – In the first game of Saturday afternoon's doubleheader, junior second baseman Kyle Hood (Arlington, Mass.) singled to right to force a play at the plate, which senior second baseman Kurtis White (Nahant, Mass.) beat out for the eventual game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth, as the No. 2/8 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team pulled out a 5-4 win over Merrimack at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field. In the second game of the Northeast-10 Conference, Northeast Division twinbill, five runs in the fifth and five more in the sixth helped the Ravens erase a 7-1 deficit and roll to a 13-8 victory.

With the wins, Franklin Pierce improves to 40-4 (21-2 Northeast-10, 16-1 Northeast Division), has won 12 in a row and sweeps the three-game season series from the Warriors, while Merrimack falls to 25-17 (15-10 Northeast-10, 9-7 Northeast Division). The win in the second game marked the seventh time in program history Franklin Pierce has won 40 games in a season and was the second such season in a row.

In the first game on Saturday afternoon, Franklin Pierce opened the scoring with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Senior center fielder Maxx Sheehan (San Jose, Calif.) led off with a single into left-center, moved to second on a groundout and scored on a sharp, line-drive single into right field by junior third baseman Jay Jabs (Schwenksville, Pa.). Jabs wound up on third on the play, thanks to an error by Merrimack sophomore right fielder Matt Nicholson. Jabs would come in to score on an RBI groundout by junior designated hitter Chris LaVorgna (North Haven, Conn.).

Merrimack cut the gap in half with a run in the top of the third inning. Freshman third baseman Matthew Ronai led off with a second-pitch single into right center, moved to second on a passed ball, went to third on a sacrifice and scored on an RBI single into left field by senior center fielder Bobby Losanno.

The Warriors would put together another run in the top of the sixth to tie the game at 2-2. With one out, junior second baseman Cam DiSarcina pulled a first-pitch double into the gap in right-center, advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a first-pitch single back through the middle by Nicholson.

Franklin Pierce untied the game immediately, taking a 4-2 lead with two runs in the home half of the sixth. With two outs and nobody on, senior right fielder Max DiTondo (Marshfield, Mass.) singled up the middle in front of senior first baseman Matthew O'Herron (Springfield, Mass.), who knocked his third home run of the season an estimated 355 feet to straightaway left field.

Merrimack responded in the top of the seventh with two more runs to level the game again, this time at 4-4. With one out, Losanno singled through the right side of the infield and moved to second two batters later on a single through the right side by junior left fielder Tyler Lyne. DiSarcina was next and lined an RBI single to right field. Two runs would score on the play, however, as DiTondo misplayed the base hit in right field.

Franklin Pierce struck for the game's fateful run in the bottom of the eighth, taking a 5-4 lead. With one out, White singled to right field and then stole second with Hood at the plate. Hood lashed a single into right field and, with two outs, head coach Jayson King elected to be aggressive and send White home. The throw to the plate was slightly up the first-base line, and senior catcher Pat Florence was unable to get the tag across the plate before White slid in safely. Merrimack head coach Nick Barese was irate with the call by plate umpire Glenn Cole, but his arguments would be to no avail.

The run made a winner (2-0) out of Franklin Pierce freshman right-hander Tanner Putnam (New Boston, N.H.), who had come on to start the top of the eighth. Putnam logged the final two innings, retired all six batters he faced and recorded three strikeouts to pick up the win out of the bullpen. Earlier in the day, sophomore right-hander John Amendola (Wallingford, Conn.) threw 81 pitches (61 strikes) over the first 6.2 innings on the mound for the Ravens. He was charged with four runs (three earned) on eight hits, walked one, threw a wild pitch and struck out four.

On the other side, senior left-hander Zach Schindler threw 91 pitches (53 strikes) over the first six innings on the rubber for Merrimack. He allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits, walked two, hit a batter and struck out two. Junior right-hander Matt DiNello (1-1) would take the loss in relief, as he allowed one run on three hits, with one walk (intentional), one hit batsman and three strikeouts in two innings of work.

In the second game, Merrimack opened the scoring immediately, with two runs in the top of the first inning. Junior shortstop Mike Forgione led off with a first-pitch single into right field and wound up at third after an infield single by Lyne, as Jabs threw the ball away from third. DiSarcina was next and lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to score Forgione and move Lyne to third. Lyne would then score on an RBI single through the left side of the drawn-in infield by senior first baseman Sean O'Neill.

Franklin Pierce halved the deficit with a run in the home half of the first. Sheehan was hit by a pitch leading off, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored when Jabs yanked an RBI double down the right-field line.

Merrimack opened up a 7-1 lead with five runs in the top of the fourth. Losanno ripped an RBI double through Jabs' position at third; Forgione pulled an RBI, ground-rule double into the gap in left-center; and sophomore designated hitter Mike Hoalcraft picked up a one-hop, RBI, infield single off the glove of the pitcher. Also in the inning, Forgione scored on an error, while sophomore catcher Ricky Smith scored on a wild pitch.

Franklin Pierce responded with back-to-back five-run innings in the fifth and sixth innings to turn the tables and jump to an 11-7 lead. In the fifth, LaVorgna had the biggest blow, with a two-run single back through the middle, while Hood picked up an RBI with a ground ball and White drew a bases-loaded walk in his second turn at bat in the inning, after clubbing a leadoff triple off the top of the fence in center field. Franklin Pierce capitalized on four Merrimack errors and three walks in the inning to score five runs on just three hits, while sending 11 men to the plate. Jabs scored the remaining run of the inning, as he walked and later scored on an error.

In the sixth, it was five runs on four hits and one error, with two walks and a hit batsman mixed in, as the Ravens sent 11 men to the plate again and still left the bases loaded. Jabs had an RBI single to right in the inning and White went the other way for an RBI single through the left side, while both DiTondo and Hood drove in runs with bases-loaded walks. Sheehan also singled in the inning and scored on an error.

Franklin Pierce tacked on single runs in the seventh and eighth to open the lead to 13-7. In the seventh, LaVorgna doubled down the left-field line with two outs and scored when DiTondo tried the other side and hit a chopper, which hit the bag at first and turned into an RBI double down the right-field line. In the eighth, White singled through the right side leading off and then stole second. He then stole third and scored on the play as well, as Smith's throw escaped down the left-field line.

Merrimack picked up a run in the top of the ninth to create the 13-8 final. With one out, Hoalcraft was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a wild pitch, went to third on a groundout and scored while Ronai reached on an error.

After finishing the first game, Putnam came back and threw 29 pitches (22 strikes) over the first 2.1 innings of the second game. He allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits, walked one, struck out one and did not factor in the decision. The sixth of eight Raven pitchers in the three-hour and 10-minute marathon, senior left-hander Gage Griffin (Moosup, Conn.) fired three scoreless innings to pick up the win (4-0) out of the bullpen. He allowed just one hit and faced just 10 batters, walked one and struck out two.

Junior right-hander Perry Kulaga (5-2) started for Merrimack and was left in the game well past the time he was able to be effective. After four solid innings, Kulaga was ultimately left to twist in the wind for 114 pitches (71 strikes) over five innings, plus four batters in the sixth, of which he retired none. Over five-plus innings, he was ultimately charged with 10 runs (five earned) on nine hits, walked three, hit two batters, threw a wild pitch and struck out six.

The Ravens return to the field on Tuesday, May 3, when they travel to Saint Anselm for a Northeast-10 Conference, Northeast Division contest. First pitch is set 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).