MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (February 25, 2017) – The bats woke up on Saturday morning for the No. 7/12 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team, as five runs in the sixth and two more in the eighth led the way to a 7-2 victory over Wilmington (Del.) in non-conference, neutral-site play at The Ripken Experience. The offensive performance backed up seven innings of four-hit ball and 10 strikeouts from senior right-hander Cody McPartland (Sound Beach, N.Y.) in his Ravens debut.

With the win, Franklin Pierce gets back to .500 early on, at 2-2, while Wilmington falls to 2-1. The Ravens will wrap up their five-game trip to Myrtle Beach on Sunday at 9 a.m. against LIU Post.

Wilmington -- which played as the home team -- opened the scoring on Saturday, with a run in the bottom of the third inning. With one out, senior right fielder Rocky Ferrier tripled to right field and came in to score when sophomore center fielder Julian Kurych followed with a sacrifice fly to left field.

The triple was the only extra-base hit allowed while facing 28 batters for McPartland (1-0), who came as-advertised in his Franklin Pierce debut. The 2016 NCAA East Regional All-Championship Team selection held the Wildcats mostly at bay over seven innings on the way to the win. He was touched for just the one run on four hits, walked three and struck out 10.

Franklin Pierce got the run back and then some, when the Ravens struck for five runs in the top of the sixth inning. Junior third baseman John Friday (Southborough, Mass.) had the big blow of the inning, with a two-run double with one out, while freshman left fielder Richard DiMartino (Yonkers, N.Y.) had a double in the inning as well. Otherwise, the Ravens made Wilmington pay for two walks, one hit batsman, a pair of passed balls and an error committed in the inning.

The Ravens tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the top of the eighth inning to push the lead as high as 7-1. Junior first baseman Dalton Davis (Birmingham, Ala.) took a leadoff walk, moved to second and third on consecutive groundouts and, after back-to-back walks, ultimately scored when senior second baseman Kyle Hood (Arlington, Mass.) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

Wilmington picked up a run in the bottom of the eighth to create the 7-2 final. Senior third baseman Mike Annone was hit by a pitch with one out, moved to second on a single back through the middle by junior catcher Nick Macey and went to third as a walk loaded the bases. Annone would then come in to score, as Hood threw away a potential double-play ground ball hit by sophomore first baseman Kendall Small.

Senior right-hander Ben Collincini (Freehold, N.J.) came on after the error, with the tying run in the on-deck circle and one away. He immediately recorded a strikeout and went on to retire all five batters he faced, including a pair of strikeouts, to nail down his first collegiate save.

Sophomore right-hander Sean Deely started on the mound and did not factor in the decision for Wilmington. He threw shutout ball over the first five innings, allowed three hits, walked two and struck out two. Sophomore left-hander Rudy Gervolino (0-1) was next and lasted just one-third of an inning, but was tagged for five runs (three earned) on two hits, walked two, hit a batter and struck out one while taking the loss.

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).