RINDGE, N.H. (April 22, 2017) – In the first game of a Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division doubleheader on Saturday afternoon, the Franklin Pierce University baseball team plated four runs in the bottom of the eighth, including a key two-run double by junior catcher Stephen Octave (New Windsor, N.Y.), to pull out a 10-6 win over visiting Stonehill. In the second game, freshman left-hander Daniel Paul held the Ravens at bay with eight innings of two-run, four-hit ball as Stonehill forced the split with a 4-2 win at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field.

With the split, Franklin Pierce now stands at 23-12 (13-6 NE10, 9-4 NE Div.) on the year, while Stonehill moves to 11-23 (5-10 NE10, 5-8 NE Div.). The two teams will play the rubber match of their three-game weekend series on Sunday at Pappas Field. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.

In the first game on Saturday, Stonehill opened the scoring with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. Freshman center fielder John Orzechowski was hit by a pitch leading off, stole second and came around to score on a double inside the bag at third and down the left-field line by senior left fielder Ben Monte. Monte then stole third and scored on an infield single by senior designated hitter Eddie Bowler.

The Ravens answered immediately with three runs in the home half of the first to jump to a 3-2 lead. Junior third baseman John Friday (Southborough, Mass.) and Octave opened the inning with back-to-back singles, which set the table for junior first baseman Dalton Davis (Birmingham, Ala.). Davis got a 2-0 fastball over the middle of the plate and unloaded, driving a long, three-run home run over the 365-foot sign in the right-center field power alley. Davis' team-leading fifth home run of the season was estimated at 390 feet.

Franklin Pierce tacked on a run in the third and another in the fourth to push the lead out to 5-2. In the third, senior center fielder Lucas Luopa (Keene, N.H.) led off with a single the other way into right center, moved to second when Friday walked and then stole third on a double steal. In yet another bad break on the injury front for the Ravens, Luopa came up holding his arm after diving in head first, exited the game and did not return over the course of the doubleheader. Davis later cashed in the pinch runner -- junior Harrison Smoske (Burlington, Mass.) -- with a sacrifice fly to center field.

In the fourth, freshman shortstop Joe Napolitano (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) singled to center with two outs. He would score as Smoske followed and clubbed an RBI triple over the head of Orzechowski in center field.

Stonehill picked up an unearned run in the top of the fifth to close the gap to 5-3. Junior right fielder Alex Hurley was hit by a pitch leading off and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Two batters later, Monte put the ball lightly in play on the left side of the infield. Senior right-hander Cody McPartland (Sound Beach, N.Y.) scampered off the mound and fielded cleanly with his bare hand. However, his throw to first sailed high and wide for an error, which allowed Hurley to come around to score.

The Skyhawks pulled out front, 6-5, with a trio of unearned runs in the top of the seventh. Hurley and sophomore second baseman Matthew Rocco led off with back-to-back infield singles, the latter on a bunt, to put runners at first and second with nobody out and force the end of the day for McPartland. Graduate student right-hander Tanner Bird (Adams, Mass.) came on to face Orzechowski, who attempted to sacrifice, but bunted the ball straight back to the mound. With plenty of time, Bird turned to throw out the lead runner at third, but threw the ball away, allowing a run to score and putting runners at second and third. Two batters later, Bowler drove home Rocco with an RBI groundout and senior shortstop Steve Lee eventually forced home the go-ahead run, when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

Franklin Pierce immediately rallied to tie the game at 6-6 with an unearned run of its own in the bottom half of the eighth. Junior right fielder Adam Chase (Bridgewater, Mass.) led off and dumped a double the other way down the right-field line. Friday followed and attempted to sacrifice, but he too bunted the ball straight back to the mound. Much like Bird the inning before, Stonehill senior left-hander Patrick Nicholson fielded with plenty of time to retire the lead runner, but his throw to third was wide and pulled junior third baseman Joe Klingensmith away from the bag. Octave was next and bounced into a fielder's choice to drive home the run.

Four more runs for the Ravens in the bottom of the eighth put the crimson and grey ahead to stay and created the 10-6 final. Senior second baseman Kyle Hood (Arlington, Mass.) reached on an infield single leading off and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Two batters later, Stonehill elected to issue an intentional walk to Chase with first base open and took on Friday instead. Friday wasted no time, lining the first pitch he saw to center field to plate Hood with the tying run. Four pitches later, Octave had the game's pivotal hit, as he pulled a hot ground ball inside the bag at third and down the left-field line for a two-run double. Davis would cash in Octave as well, by pulling an RBI single through the right side to cap the scoring.

McPartland threw 112 pitches (69 strikes) over six-plus innings on the mound for Franklin Pierce and did not factor in the decision. He allowed five runs (two earned) on four hits, walked two, hit three batters, balked once and struck out 11. Junior left-hander Adam Goss (Waterford, Conn.) was the beneficiary of the four eighth-inning runs and picked up the win (1-0) after throwing just two pitches in relief. Goss came on in the top of the eighth with two runners on, including the go-ahead run at third, to face Bowler. He got Bowler to pop up to shortstop on the second pitch, ending the inning and getting the Ravens back to the plate, where they would score four times in the bottom half of the inning.

Nicholson threw 106 pitches (65 strikes) over the first 6.1 innings for Stonehill and also did not factor in the decision. He allowed six runs (five earned) on eight hits, walked three, threw a wild pitch and struck out three. Senior left-hander Patrick Hurley (1-2) threw the final 1.2 innings and suffered the loss out of the bullpen. He surrendered four runs on four hits, walked one (intentionally), threw a wild pitch and struck out one.

In the second game, Stonehill took the lead for good with a run in the top of the second. Lee reached on an infield single leading off, went first-to-third on a single to right-center by sophomore third baseman William Kelleher and then scored on a passed ball.

The Skyhawks added a run in the top of the fourth to double the lead to 2-0. With one out, junior catcher Alexander Joyce singled to center, moved to second when Kelleher was hit by a pitch, took third on a flyout down the right-field line and scored on an RBI single off the mound and back up the middle by Orzechowski.

Another run in the top of the seventh stretched the lead to 3-0. With one out, Orzechowski cracked a triple the other way into the gap in right-center and scored two batters later on an RBI groundout by Bowler.

Franklin Pierce made things interesting with a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth. With one out, back-to-back singles to right by Chase and Friday, and then a walk to Octave, loaded the bases. Davis chased home one run with an RBI groundout, before Friday scored on a wild pitch. The tying run was stranded at third though, as Paul got freshman pinch hitter Richard DiMartino (Yonkers, N.Y.) to hit a sharp ground ball directly at Lee at shortstop to end the inning.

Stonehill tacked on an insurance run in the top of the ninth to create the 4-2 final. With one out, Orzechowski walked and stole second. With two outs, the Ravens again turned to Goss to face Bowler in a big spot. This time though, the hitter won the battle, as he dumped a 1-2 pitch into right-center field for an RBI single.

Franklin Pierce would get the tying run to the plate with two outs against sophomore left-hander Aran Hamilton-Grenham in the last of the ninth, but Hamilton-Grenham got freshman catcher Dylan Jones (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) to bounce out to third to nail down his first save of the season.

Junior right-hander John Amendola (Wallingford, Conn.) started on the mound for Franklin Pierce and threw 111 pitches (79 strikes) over eight innings. He allowed three runs on 11 hits, did not issue a walk, hit two batters, threw a wild pitch, struck out eight and was stuck with the loss (4-3).

Paul (2-0) also went eight innings on the hill, but needed only 96 pitches (63 strikes) to do so on the way to the win. He allowed two runs on four hits, walked three, threw one wild pitch and struck out just one.

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).