RINDGE, N.H. (May 8, 2017) – For the 17th straight season, the Franklin Pierce University baseball team will make an appearance in the Northeast-10 Conference Championship. The Ravens, who are the Northeast Division's second seed, will open pursuit of their Conference-record sixth NE10 title on Tuesday night, when they host third-seeded Merrimack in the first round. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field.

Franklin Pierce (30-13, 20-7 NE10, 16-5 NE Div.) has been the cream of the crop in the NE10 Championship over the last decade-plus. The Ravens are set to tie former NE10 member Bryant for the Conference record with their 17th appearance in the NE10 Championship, and have done so in 17 consecutive years. Franklin Pierce has made nine appearances in the championship round of the tournament, which is more than any other school in NE10 history. The Ravens' five titles (2015, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2005) are the most among active NE10 schools and tie former league members Springfield and Massachusetts Lowell for the most in Conference annals. Franklin Pierce's last trip to the title round came in 2015, when they defeated Stonehill for the Conference crown.

Meanwhile, Merrimack (23-20, 17-8 NE10, 15-6 NE Div.) also makes its 17th all-time appearance in the NE10 Championship, though the Warriors have not done so 17 years in a row. Merrimack does make its third straight appearance in the league's postseason tournament, but has been eliminated in the first round by the eventual NE10 champion in each of the last two seasons, as the Warriors fell at Southern New Hampshire in 2016 and at Franklin Pierce in 2015. Merrimack last advanced to the double-elimination, weekend portion of the Championship in 2013, when they scored a 4-1, upset victory at Franklin Pierce in the first round and went on to finish as the tournament's runner-up. All-time, Merrimack is second only to Franklin Pierce with seven appearances in the final round of the NE10 Championship, and the Warriors have taken home the title on three occasions (1996, 1995, 1990).

Scouting the Ravens

Franklin Pierce began the season just 7-6, but has rattled off 23 wins in 30 games since returning north from North Carolina at the end of spring break. The Ravens head into the NE10 Championship winners of seven of their last eight.

Franklin Pierce was ranked sixth in the East Region a week ago, which puts the team squarely on the bubble in terms of NCAA Championship selection. Seven teams will qualify for the East Regional, with each of the region's three conferences -- the NE10, the East Coast Conference and the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference -- guaranteed an automatic bid for their tournament champion. Second-ranked Felician, the lone CACC team among the region's top-nine a week ago, has already been ousted from its conference championship, which indicates at least one bid will be taken by a team ranked outside the top seven. Should Franklin Pierce not take home the NE10 title itself, it must pull for St. Thomas Aquinas to win the ECC title and for the NE10 crown to go to a team ranked above them in the East Region: SNHU, Southern Connecticut State or New Haven, as of a week ago. The Ravens did get some help last week, as SCSU stumbled to a 2-3 week. Updated East Region rankings will be released on Wednesday.

On the field, the Ravens have a quartet of hitters who get on base more than 40% of the time. Junior right fielder Adam Chase (Bridgewater, Mass.) leads the way with a .359/.455/.486 slash line through 142 at-bats (51-for-142) and is fifth in the NE10 in batting average. Out of the three-hole, junior third baseman John Friday (Southborough, Mass.) follows at .343/.405/.469 through 175 at-bats (60-for-175) and has scored 36 runs on the year. Junior first baseman Dalton Davis (Birmingham, Ala.) provides some power in the middle of the lineup, as he ranks second in the league with seven home runs, while putting together a .313/.402/.506 line through 160 at-bats (50-for-160). Though he has hit just .244, senior second baseman Kyle Hood (Arlington, Mass.) has drawn 24 walks and been hit by 13 pitches to chalk up .244/.405/.283 near the back end of the order.

Scouting the Warriors

On the other side of the ledger, Merrimack has dropped four of its last five heading into the postseason, though the stretch comes after the Warriors had won seven in a row. The Warriors lost only two of their seven three-game divisional series on the year, falling to the two teams which finished in front of them, SNHU and Franklin Pierce.

The Warriors were not among the top nine in the most recent NCAA East Region rankings. With an overall record of 23-20 heading into the postseason, Merrimack's only path to an NCAA berth would be to win the NE10 title. In a twist of fate, such an accomplishment would almost certainly cast Franklin Pierce as a team on the outside looking in.

By contrast, Merrimack has just one regular over the .400 mark in on-base percentage. Senior first baseman Cam DiSarcina leads the way for the Warriors at the plate with a .337/.405/.546 slash line over 163 at-bats (55-for-163) and leads the NE10 with 21 doubles and 26 extra-base hits on the season. For his part, fellow senior Ryan Petrone has hit .273/.394/.295 over 88 at-bats (24-for-88), while sophomore designated hitter Matthew Ronai has slashed .356/.391/.513 over 160 at-bats (57-for-160). Ronai has 15 extra-base hits on the season and is second on the team with four home runs. Junior Matt Nicholson leads the team with six home runs, but is hitting just .259/.333/.407 in 162 at-bats (42-for-162).

On the Mound

Franklin Pierce is expected to give the ball to senior right-hander Cody McPartland (Sound Beach, N.Y.) with the season effectively on the line on Tuesday night. It will be his first postseason start as a Raven, but he had experience starting at both the conference tournament and NCAA regional level a year ago, when he pitched for Dowling.

On the season, McPartland has made 10 appearances, including eight starts, and logged 62 innings, including three complete games and one shutout. He has allowed 22 runs (16 earned) on 56 hits, walked 12 and struck out 78 (11.32 per nine innings) to put together a 2.32 ERA and a 6-0 record with one save.

McPartland did not face Merrimack during the regular-season series between the two teams.

Merrimack is likely to counter with junior left-hander Anthony Lupi on the hill. It would be his first collegiate postseason appearance.

On the season, Lupi has made 11 appearances, including eight starts, to total a team-high 50.2 innings. He has surrendered 27 runs (19 earned) on 43 hits, walked 17 and struck out 58 (10.80 per nine innings) on the way to a 2.31 ERA and a 4-3 record.

Lupi started against Franklin Pierce on April 14 at Warrior Baseball Diamond in North Andover, Mass., when he needed 88 pitches (56 strikes) just to get through five innings on the mound. He allowed seven runs (four earned) on nine hits, walked two and struck out two as the Ravens handed him the loss.

Earlier this Season

The two teams met for a three-game weekend series on April 14-15 at Warrior Baseball Diamond, with the Ravens taking two of the three contests, though they really should have won all three. In Friday's opening game, junior right-hander John Amendola (Wallingford, Conn.) went the distance and threw a nine-hitter and the Ravens knocked Lupi out after five in a 7-4 win. In the front end of a Saturday doubleheader, the Ravens opened up an 8-0 lead in the fourth, but gave it all back, including a six-run eighth, to lose, 11-8. Franklin Pierce bounced back in the second game, as freshman right-hander Derek Duffy (Farmington, Conn.) rolled up a double play and picked the tying run off in the ninth to end the game as the Ravens held on for a 3-2 victory and the series win.

Previously in the Postseason

The Ravens and the Warriors have previously met three times in the postseason, with all three meetings occurring in the NE10 Championship and Franklin Pierce taking two of the three showdowns.

Two years ago, in 2015, the two met at Pappas field in the first round, and the Ravens used nine strikeouts over 7.1 innings from then-sophomore right-hander Mike Lundin (Kingston, Mass.) to roll to an 11-4 victory.

Two years prior to that, in 2013, it was another first round meeting at Pappas Field, and Merrimack got a complete-game, five-hit effort from Alek Morency to deal the Ravens a 4-1 defeat.

The two sides also met in what was effectively a semifinal contest at Pappas Field on the final day of the 2010 NE10 Championship. Eric Pearson went 2-for-2, scored once and drove in two runs to lead the Ravens in a 5-2 victory.

Headed to the Game?

If you plan on making the trip to Rindge on Tuesday night, directions to Franklin Pierce and maps of the Rindge campus can be found here.

Ticket prices are set as follows:

Adults - $6
Children/Seniors - $4
Students (with valid ID from NE10 institutions) - $1
Franklin Pierce students (with valid ID) will be admitted free of charge, courtesy of the Department of Athletics

Per Conference policy, no additional complimentary admissions will be issued.

Please be advised, the lower DiGregorio lot beyond left field is expected to be closed on Tuesday night due to setup for this weekend's commencement. Fans are invited to park in the upper DiGregorio lot, with access via Mountain Road; in the Ravencroft lot (located across University Drive from the DiGregorio building); or in any other available lot on the upper campus. Parking is permitted in lined spaces only.

How to Follow Along

If you prefer to follow the action from home, from work or from elsewhere, both live video and live stats will be available.

Live stats | Video (pay-per-view)

Up Next

The winner of Tuesday's first-round contest will advance to the weekend, double-elimination portion of the NE10 Championship, currently scheduled for Thursday through Saturday. The top advancing seed from the Southwest Division will host the weekend portion of the tournament. Should rain necessitate the postponement of any of Tuesday's scheduled first-round games, the weekend portion of the Championship will be held Friday through Sunday.

Southwest Division first-round games are as follows: top seed Southern Connecticut State will host fourth-seeded Pace at 3:30 p.m. and second-seeded New Haven will host third-seeded Le Moyne, also at 3:30 p.m. The Franklin Pierce/Merrimack winner will open the weekend against the SCSU/Pace winner.

The Northeast Division's other first-round contest features fourth-seeded Bentley visiting top seed Southern New Hampshire at 6 p.m.

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).