RINDGE, N.H. (April 7, 2018) – A pair of juniors, left-hander Evan Glew (North Andover, Mass.) and right-hander Zach Hart (Wallingford, Conn.), combined to strike out 14 over 12 innings of work in their starts on Saturday afternoon, as the Franklin Pierce University baseball team swept away visiting American International in a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field. The Ravens took the first game, 4-2, and then piled up 13 hits in an 11-0 shutout in the second game.

With the wins, the Franklin Pierce improves to 19-8-1 (9-2 NE10) and has won six in a row, while American International falls to 12-15 (3-7 NE10). The Ravens finished the cross-division portion of their NE10 schedule with a 5-1 mark against Southwest Division opponents.

In the first game, Franklin Pierce opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning. With one out, senior right fielder Adam Chase (Burlington, Mass.) singled off the glove of diving AIC freshman third baseman Will Johnson. Chase moved to second on a single through the right side by sophomore second baseman J.R. DiSarcina (Barnstable, Mass.), advanced to third on a fielder's choice and scored on an infield single dribbled up the third-base line by sophomore shortstop James Boria (Massapequa, N.Y.).

The Ravens doubled the lead to 2-0 with a run in the bottom of the fifth. Senior catcher Stephen Octave (New Windsor, N.Y.) lifted a towering fly ball deep to right-center, which fell just out of the reach of the center fielder and went for a leadoff triple. He would score immediately, as Chase followed with a double inside the bag at third and down the line.

Two more in the bottom of the sixth pushed the lead as high as 4-0. With one out, junior left fielder Brad Roberto (San Diego, Calif.) beat out an infield single and moved to second on a walk to sophomore second baseman Joe Napolitano (Port St. Lucie, Fla.), who came on in the third, in a switch which moved DiSarcina over to play third base. After a wild pitch moved the runners up and an intentional walk loaded the bases, Octave picked up an RBI by being hit by a pitch. Chase bounced into a fielder's choice and beat out the back end of the double-play attempt to drive home the inning's second run.

AIC picked up two runs in the top of the seventh to create the 4-2 final. Glew allowed a leadoff single back through the middle by sophomore first baseman Andrew Ciacciarelli and then walked Johnson on five pitches before leaving injured. Junior right-hander Anthony Matarazzo (Medford, Mass.) took over and allowed a single through the right side by freshman second baseman Angel Mendez. Chase misplayed the ball in right, which allowed Ciacciarelli to score and moved Johnson to third. After a pair of strikeouts, sophomore designated hitter Matt Costanza picked up a two-out RBI with a looping single into left field. Matarazzo then struck out sophomore right fielder Matt Krause to strand the tying run at second.

In all, Matarazzo finished with six strikeouts while working three scoreless innings of relief, though he did allow the two inherited runners to score. He allowed two hits and did not issue a walk while nailing down his fifth save of the season. Matarazzo wrapped things up for Glew (4-1), who threw 86 pitches (55 strikes) over six-plus innings before exiting with an apparent arm injury. He allowed two runs on four hits, walked one, hit a batter and struck out five while picking up the win.

On the other side of the ledger, AIC junior left-hander Nick Kennedy (2-1) was allowed to throw 126 pitches (68 strikes) over six innings of work. He surrendered four runs on eight hits, walked five (one intentionally), hit two batters, threw two wild pitches and struck out seven while taking the loss.

In the second game, Hart (4-1) took care of keeping the Yellow Jackets quiet, as he threw 89 pitches (61 strikes) over six innings before leaving with a big lead. He did not allow a run, gave up just one hit, walked two, hit a batter and struck out nine while cruising to the win. He allowed just four baserunners, and one was erased on a caught stealing, which meant Hart faced just three over the minimum through his six innings. He retired the first eight and the final seven batters he faced.

The Yellow Jackets loaded the bases with two outs in the in the fourth, but Hart struck out Johnson looking on three pitches to leave them all out there. They would be the final baserunners of the day for AIC, as the final 16 Yellow Jackets were set down in order. A pair of Franklin Pierce relievers, sophomore right-hander Derek Duffy (Farmington, Conn.) and senior left-hander Adam Goss (Waterford, Conn.), combined to strike out four and retire all nine AIC batters over the final three innings to finish things off for Hart.

The Ravens got the only runs they would need with a trio of unearned tallies in the bottom of the first. Boria reached leading off, on a throwing error by junior shortstop Brendan Carter, which was the first of seven AIC errors in the second game of the twinbill. An infield single by Roberto and a walk to graduate student first baseman Mike Coggeshall (Shrewsbury, Mass.) loaded the bases for Octave, who spent the second game as the designated hitter. Octave lined out to left field, but it was deep enough to chase home Boria to open the scoring. Meanwhile, Johnson muffed the throw in from the outfield, which allowed Roberto to take third. The latter would score from there on a wild pitch, which also moved Coggeshall to second. DiSarcina then plated Coggeshall from there with an RBI single into left field.

Franklin Pierce pushed the lead to 4-0 with a run in the bottom of the fourth. Chase doubled into the gap in left-center leading off, moved to third on a groundout and scored on an RBI infield single by sophomore center fielder Jack Duffy (Stratford, Conn.).

The Ravens would later send 11 men to plate and score six runs in the last of the sixth to break things wide open and make it a 10-0 game. DiSarcina, sophomore catcher Dylan Jones (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), Roberto and Coggeshall all had RBI singles in the inning, while two other runs came across to score thanks to errant throws.

Freshman left-hander Joe Kemlage (3-2) started on the mound in the second game for AIC and needed 77 pitches (49 strikes) to make his way through 3.2 innings. He allowed four runs (one earned) on six hits, walked one, threw two wild pitches and struck out three while taking the loss.

The Ravens return to the field on Wednesday, April 11, when they return home to host intrastate foe Southern New Hampshire in an NE10 Northeast Division contest. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Pappas Field.

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).