Archived game video
Postgame press conference (King, Bird, Matarazzo)
Championship Central 

CARY, N.C. (May 28, 2016) – In and out of trouble all evening and trying to stave off South Region champion and No. 5/17 nationally ranked Nova Southeastern until their teammates could find a game-winning run, the pitching staff of the No. 1/3 and East Region champion Franklin Pierce University baseball team ultimately succumbed in the bottom of the 12th inning on Saturday night. Junior second baseman Jancarlos Cintron-Torres lined a two-out single into right field to plate senior right fielder Kavan Thompson with the game-winning run, as NSU picked up a 4-3, 12-inning victory at Coleman Field at the USA Baseball National Training Complex. The contest was the third of four games on the first day of the NCAA Championship National Finals, hosted by Mount Olive and the Town of Cary.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 48-8 and will face elimination throughout the remainder of its National Finals appearance. The Ravens will face the loser of Saturday's nightcap, featuring Central Region champion Central Missouri and Southeast Region champion Lander, in an elimination contest at 3 p.m. on Tuesday. At press time, the two teams were tied at 1-1 in the top of the third inning.

With the win, Nova Southeastern improves to 40-16. The Sharks will play a winner's bracket game at 7 p.m. on Tuesday against the winner of Saturday's Central Missouri/Lander contest.

Franklin Pierce led 3-2 heading for the last of the ninth inning, and would put the Sharks down to their final out, before Nova Southeastern scratched out the game-tying run. The inning started with a leadoff walk to junior left fielder Sebastian Diaz, who was then sacrificed to second by junior shortstop Dylan Woods. After a passed ball moved Diaz to third and a walk put runners at the corners, the Ravens turned the game over to sophomore right-hander John Amendola (Wallingford, Conn.). Amendola struck out junior center fielder Kevin Suarez for the second out, but could not get the 27th and final out of the ballgame, as junior first baseman Andres Visbal followed with a single to center to tie the ballgame. Sophomore right-hander Anthony Matarazzo (Medford, Mass.) came on and ultimately stranded the bases loaded with a groundout to send the game to extra innings.

Matarazzo (11-1) battled tooth and nail through his three innings on the hill, as he attempted to hold off the Sharks long enough for the Ravens lineup to reclaim the lead. In the 10th, he stranded runners on the corners by getting Cintron-Torres to ground out to third. In the 11th, it was runners at second and third for Nova Southeastern, but Matarazzo induced another groundout to third, from freshman catcher Jake Anchia, to force the fateful 12th inning.

For its part in extras, Franklin Pierce went in order in the top of the 10th. In the 11th, senior second baseman Kurtis White (Nahant, Mass.) reached with a two-out single, but was then caught stealing to end the inning. The Ravens' best chance to take a lead came in the top of the 12th, as they put runners on first and second with two outs for junior third baseman Jay Jabs (Schwenksville, Pa.), the consensus East Region Player of the Year. Jabs got a solid piece of the ball, but flew out deep in the gap in right-center to end the threat.

It would be the final time the Ravens would threaten, as Nova Southeastern -- which stranded 16 men in the game -- would push across the winning run in the home half of the 12th. Thompson was hit by a pitch leading off, and was then sacrificed to second by Diaz. After a groundout to shortstop for the second out, a wild pitch would move Thompson to third. Cintron-Torres then provided the game's final crescendo, as he went the other way and lined a game-winning single to right to send the Sharks spilling out of the third-base dugout in celebration.

The hit stuck Matarazzo with the loss after three high-pressure innings in his first relief appearance of the year. He allowed one run on two hits, walked two, hit a batter, threw a pair of wild pitches and struck out one. Senior right-hander Paul Covelle (Medford, Mass.) started and threw just two-plus innings and 35 pitches (27 strikes) before departing. He surrendered two unearned runs on six hits, did not issue a walk, threw a wild pitch and did not record a strikeout. Senior right-hander Tanner Bird (Adams, Mass.) did the heavy lifting out of the Franklin Pierce bullpen through the middle innings. Over 5.1 scoreless innings and 67 pitches (44 strikes), he allowed three hits, walked one, hit a batter and struck out five.

Senior right-hander Alex Mateo took the baseball and threw 109 pitches (74 strikes) over the first 6.1 innings on the mound for Nova Southeastern. He allowed three runs (one earned) on six hits, walked one, hit two batters and struck out five without factoring in the decision. Cintron-Torres' heroics in the 12th made a winner out of senior right-hander Devin Raftery (1-1) out of the bullpen. Raftery fired just 33 pitches (21 strikes) over five scoreless innings of relief. He allowed just two hits, walked two and struck out four.

Earlier in the evening, the Ravens looked a little shaky out of the gates at the National Finals, surrendering a pair of unearned runs to Nova Southeastern in the bottom of the first. Extra outs would be the culprit in the frame, as things started when Visbal reached on a two-out error by junior second baseman Kyle Hood (Arlington, Mass.), who misplayed an in-between hop on a chopper on the right side. Visbal went to second on an infield single by junior designated hitter Brandon Gomez, and then both runners moved up on a wild pitch. With two men now in scoring position, junior third baseman Daniel Zardon would cash them both in, with a two-out, two-run single into center field.

With 2-3-4 due up in the top of the fourth, the top and heart of the Ravens order came up with two runs to tie the game at 2-2. Senior shortstop Justin Brock (Latham, N.Y.) walked leading off, before Jabs reached on an error by Cintron-Torres, who appeared to try to hurry his feed to second on a double-play attempt before securing the baseball. Junior designated hitter Chris LaVorgna (North Haven, Conn.) came to the plate bunting, and was able to deaden the ball up the third-base line for a bunt single without a throw to load the bases with nobody out. Senior right fielder Max DiTondo (Marshfield, Mass.) and senior first baseman Matt O'Herron (Springfield, Mass.) capitalized on the opportunity, lifting back-to-back sacrifice flies to center field to tie the ballgame.

Until the bottom of the ninth rolled around, it appeared senior center fielder Maxx Sheehan (San Jose, Calif.) would play hero for the Ravens for the second time in six days, as Franklin Pierce struck for a 3-2 lead in the top of the seventh. Sophomore catcher Stephen Octave (New Windsor, N.Y.) led off with likely the hardest-hit ball of the night, as he doubled over the head of Suarez in center field leading off. An errant pickoff throw would move Octave to third and, after a groundout by Hood, Sheehan would pull a line-drive, RBI single into left field to give the Ravens the lead.

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).