RINDGE, N.H. (April 28, 2018) – Aptly, it was a pair of seniors who led the charge for the Franklin Pierce University baseball team on Saturday, as the Ravens swept a Senior Day doubleheader from visiting Bentley at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field. In the first game, senior right-hander Ryan Covelle (Medford, Mass.) fired a four-hit shutout -- the first complete game of his career -- with 10 strikeouts, as Franklin Pierce rolled to a 9-0 win. In the second game, senior center fielder Adam Chase (Bridgewater, Mass.) went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and a two-run triple, to key a 12-8 Ravens victory.

With the wins, Franklin Pierce improves to 27-12-1 (16-6 NE10, 11-5 NE Div.), while Bentley falls to 17-19 (11-10 NE10, 7-10 NE Div.). The Ravens swept the regular-season series from Bentley for the fifth season in a row.

Covelle was the story of the afternoon, as he stole the show in the first game. Though he had never gone farther than eight innings in his career, he channeled shades of his older brother, Paul Covelle, who threw seven complete games as a Raven from 2013-16. Ryan Covelle (5-2) needed just 112 pitches (74 strikes) to dispatch Bentley on Saturday, as he surrendered only four hits -- just one for extra bases -- did not issue a walk, hit one batter and struck out a career-best 10 on the way to the shutout. It was the second complete-game shutout for a Raven in 2018, joining Zach Hart's blanking of Pace on March 25.

Franklin Pierce got its starter the only two runs he would need in the bottom of the first inning. Sophomore shortstop Joe Napolitano (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) and junior left fielder Brad Roberto (San Diego, Calif.) took back-to-back walks on just nine combined pitches to open the inning. Both would later score as graduate student first baseman Mike Coggeshall (Shrewsbury, Mass.) clubbed a first-pitch double the other way into the gap in left-center.

The Ravens made it 3-0 with a run in the bottom of the sixth. Senior third baseman John Friday (Southborough, Mass.) sliced a leadoff double into center field, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly to the left fielder in left-center by senior catcher Stephen Octave (New Windsor, N.Y.).

Franklin Pierce broke the game open with a four-spot in the bottom of the seventh. Sophomore second baseman James Boria (Massapequa, N.Y.) singled to right leading off, moved to second on a bunt single by Napolitano, and wound up on third on the play, thanks to an error. Roberto then provided a sacrifice fly to drive home Boria from there. Coggeshall singled through the right side two batters later to put runners at first and second for Chase, who drove them both in with a two-run double deep in the gap in left-center, which one-hopped up against the top of the fence. Chase would then score on an RBI single through the left side of the infield by Octave.

The Ravens tacked on two in the eighth to create the 9-0 final. Friday laced a two-run double over the head of Bentley sophomore center fielder Max Troiani, to score both Boria, who had walked, and Napolitano, who had singled.

Junior right-hander Luke Dawson (5-3) started on the mound for Bentley and threw 111 pitches (69 strikes) over seven innings on the hill. He was touched for seven runs on 10 hits, walked four, threw a wild pitch and struck out eight while taking the loss.

It was Bentley which opened the scoring in the second game, with a pair of runs in the top of the second. Senior second baseman Mike Samko led off with a single to left, but was erased at second base, as sophomore first baseman Ryan Berardino reached on a fielder's choice. Berardino moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI single to center by sophomore shortstop Chris Hopkins. Hopkins took second on the throw to the plate on the play, and then scored on an RBI double which deflected off the glove of a lunging Friday and away into foul territory.

The Ravens responded immediately and took the lead for good with three runs in the bottom half of the second. Singles from Coggeshall and Chase, as well as a walk to senior right fielder Zack Tower (Auburn, Mass.) added up to a bases-loaded, two-out situation for Boria. Boria drove a 1-1 pitch over the head of Troiani in straightaway center for a two-run triple.

Franklin Pierce seized control of the game with a six-run bottom of the third inning. After an RBI double by Coggeshall and another run scoring on a wild pitch combined to make it 5-2, Chase provided one of the game's biggest blows. He made it a 7-2 game, as he ambushed a 1-0 pitch and hit a towering fly ball down the left-field line. The ball stayed fair just long enough to become a two-run homer of an estimated 345 feet. It was Chase's third home run of the season, all of which have come in the last eight games.

After a walk to Tower, sophomore catcher Dylan Jones (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) provided the second long ball of the inning. He also took advantage of a 1-0 pitch and clubbed it an estimated 375 feet, just to the right of straightaway left field, for his second home run of the season, to push the lead out to 9-2.

Bentley closed the gap to 9-7 with two in the fifth and three more in the sixth, all of which were unearned, as they all scored after an error had prolonged each of the respective innings. Senior catcher Nathan Littman did the damage in the fifth, as he drove a 350-foot, two-run home run to straightaway left field, his third of the season. In the sixth, Hopkins had an RBI single, while Troiani drove home two with a single of his own.

Franklin Pierce put a stop to the rally, and effectively put the game away with three runs in the last of the sixth to make it a 12-7 game. Chase picked up the final two markers of his six-RBI doubleheader with a triple to center, as Troiani got beat by a ball over his head for the third time in the twinbill. Roberto also drove in a run in the inning while bouncing into a fielder's choice.

Bentley scratched out a run in the top of the ninth to create the 12-8 final. Junior right fielder Brandon Grover singled to center with one out and later scored on an RBI single back up the middle by junior designated hitter Austin Farry.

In an unusual bit of symmetric misfortune, both starting pitchers left the game due to injury without recording an out in the second inning, which left the bullpens to carry the heavy load on the day. For Franklin Pierce, it was junior right-hander Shane Kittila (Warwick, R.I.) who picked up the slack, as he took over for freshman left-hander Alex Cruwys (Billerica, Mass.) to finish the first batter of the second.

Kittila, who had yet to throw more than two innings in an outing as a Raven, would use 71 pitches (50 strikes) while pitching the next four innings. He allowed four runs (two earned) on five hits, did not issue a walk, threw two wild pitches and struck out four while picking up the win (1-0) in relief. Senior left-hander Adam Goss (Waterford, Conn.) came on with the tying run in the on-deck circle in the ninth and got Hopkins to fly out to center field to end the game and pick up his first save of the season.

On the other side, for Bentley, freshman right-hander Jimmy Cunningham took over for junior right-hander Paul Frisoli, after a comebacker off his foot in the second inning forced the latter out of the game after just three innings. Cunningham (0-2) would face 11 batters, but recorded only four outs. Over 1.1 innings, he surrendered six runs on three hits, walked three, hit a batter, threw a wild pitch and struck out two while taking the loss.

The Ravens return to the field on Tuesday, May 1, when they travel to Saint Anselm for an NE10, Northeast Division contest. Game time is set for 4 p.m. at Sullivan Park in Manchester, N.H.

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).