RINDGE, N.H. (April 12, 2017) – Two runs in the fourth inning, one in the fifth and then four more in the sixth allowed the Franklin Pierce University baseball team to break the game open on Wednesday afternoon, on the way to an 11-3 win over Saint Anselm in Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division play. Junior right fielder Adam Chase (Bridgewater, Mass.) finished 3-for-3 and scored twice, while junior catcher Stephen Octave (New Windsor, N.Y.) went 2-for-4 and scored three runs in the win for the Ravens and Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 18-9 (10-3 NE10, 6-1 NE Div.), while Saint Anselm falls to 8-18 (3-9 NE10, 1-5 NE Div.). Along with a 7-1 win on March 29, Wednesday's victory allowed the Ravens to claim the three-game season series from the Hawks. The two teams will meet again on April 26 at Saint Anselm.

The two teams traded runs in the first inning to start things off on Wednesday. In the top of the first inning, Saint Anselm got things started with one out, as sophomore designated hitter Tyler McKeon struck out but reached on a wild pitch. He would move to both second and third on wild pitches as well, setting the table for senior first baseman Nick Bragole with two outs. Bragole chopped a ball down the third-base line which junior third baseman John Friday (Southborough, Mass.) tracked down well behind the bag. Friday was left with a long throw against his momentum and Bragole easily beat it out for an infield single and an RBI.

Franklin Pierce answered in the bottom half of the first with an unearned run. Chase led off with a bouncer back towards the middle and wound up with an infield single as junior shortstop Max Wadington attempted a tough play on the run in front of the bag and could not come up with the ball. Chase then stole second before Friday walked, and then Octave hit a slow bouncer to the left side. Wadington sent it to second to force out Friday, but the throw on to first by senior second baseman Matt Flynn was late and errant, which allowed Chase to score on the error.

The Ravens took the lead for good with a run in the bottom of the second inning. Graduate student left fielder Anthony DeDona (Bethpage, N.Y.) led off and clubbed a 3-1 pitch into the gap in right-center to start the inning with a triple. He would score immediately on an RBI groundout on the left side by senior second baseman Kyle Hood (Arlington, Mass.).

Two more runs in the bottom of the fourth pushed the lead to 4-1. With two outs, the Saint Anselm starter, sophomore right-hander Jonathan Dunn, lost command. Hood, freshman shortstop Joe Napolitano (Port St. Lucie, Fla.), senior center fielder Lucas Luopa (Keene, N.H.) and Chase all took consecutive walks on just 21 total pitches, which brought Hood all the way around without breaking a sweat. Napolitano would then score on a wild pitch.

Saint Anselm closed the gap to 4-3 with a pair of unearned runs in the top of the fifth inning. Sophomore third baseman Vincent Fortini led off and wasted a pair of two-strike pitches before cracking a double over the head of Chase in right field. After Fortini moved to third on a sacrifice bunt, Flynn came up and hit a two-hopper towards Friday at third. Friday got caught on an in-between hop and the ball ate him up, leaving Flynn safe at first on an error, while Fortini held his ground at third. Another error followed, as Napolitano made an errant throw from shortstop which allowed McKeon to reach, while Fortini scored. Wadington was next and knocked an RBI single back up the middle to plate Flynn.

Franklin Pierce answered with an unearned run of its own in the home half of the fourth to make it 5-3. Octave singled to left leading off and was still on first with one out when freshman catcher Dylan Jones (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) came to the plate. Octave was in motion on the first pitch, which Jones bounced out towards short. Despite the runner in motion, Wadington elected to go to second anyway, but his toss was not in time to force out Octave. Flynn then made an attempt to retire the trailing Jones at first, but threw the ball away, which allowed Octave to take third. Octave would score from there as DeDona followed with an RBI single through the right side.

The Ravens broke the game open with four runs in the bottom of the sixth to push the lead to 9-3. The first four batters of the inning reached base, as Luopa and Chase walked, before Friday singled through the left side and then Octave dropped a bases-loaded single into left field to score two. Friday would later score when DeDona was plunked on the hip with the bases loaded, while Octave came home on a sacrifice fly to center field by Hood.

A pair of insurance runs in the last of the eighth created the 11-3 final. Octave walked leading off, stole second on a failed pickoff attempt and scored on a double into the gap in left-center by Jones. Jones then took third on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI groundout on the right side by DeDona.

Junior right-hander Mike Lundin (Kingston, Mass.) started on the mound, threw 67 pitches (53 strikes) over the first 4.2 innings and did not factor in the decision for Franklin Pierce. He allowed three runs (one earned) on four hits, did not issue a walk, threw three wild pitches and struck out three. Graduate student right-hander Tanner Bird (Adams, Mass.) took over from there, faced four batters and struck them all out to fire 1.1 scoreless innings and pick up the win (3-2) out of the bullpen.

Dunn (2-3) needed 90 pitches, and threw just 40 strikes, to get through four innings on the mound for Saint Anselm. He allowed four runs (three earned) on three hits, walked six, threw a wild pitch and struck out one while taking the loss.

The Ravens return to the field on Friday, April 14, when they travel to Merrimack for an NE10 Northeast Division contest. First pitch is set for 3:30 p.m. at Warrior Baseball Diamond in North Andover, Mass.

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).