CARY, N.C. (March 8, 2020) – After scoring 24 runs across three games on the first two days of a seven-game trip to North Carolina, the bats went quiet for the Franklin Pierce University baseball team on Sunday afternoon at USA Baseball National Training Complex. The Ravens were held to just four hits on the afternoon, and a late error proved costly, as Jefferson plated a run in the top of the eighth inning to pick up a 2-1 win over Franklin Pierce in non-conference play.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 5-7, while Jefferson improves to 3-7. Though Monday was originally scheduled as an off day, the Ravens will now play a pair of games at the USA Baseball National Training Complex, as the week's schedule has shifted due to inclement weather expected midweek. Franklin Pierce will take on St. Thomas Aquinas at 11 a.m. and Indiana (Pa.) at 3 p.m. on Monday.

The Ravens struck first on Sunday, with a run in the bottom of the second inning. Senior designated hitter Dylan Jones (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) opened the inning with a single to right and then stole both second and third base, before scoring on a sacrifice fly towards the gap in right-center by sophomore catcher Jake Miller (Waltham, Mass.).

Jefferson answered with a run in the top of the fourth inning. Junior left fielder CJ Goodz started things with one out, as he drove a double into the gap in right-center. He scored thanks to the very next at-bat, as junior catcher Efrain Santiago clubbed a double over the head of the right fielder and up against the fence.

The game stayed stuck on 1-1 until the top of the eighth, when the Rams struck for the lead. Freshman second baseman Alex Gonzalez led off with a single through the left side against graduate student right-hander Carmine Giordano (New Rochelle, N.Y.) and then moved to third with nobody out as Giordano threw away a pickoff attempt at first base. Still, Giordano nearly worked out of the mess. He recorded back-to-back strikeouts of freshman shortstop Dylan Rees and Goodz, but then Santiago pulled a first-pitch grounder through the hole in the left side of the infield for an RBI single to plate the eventual winning run.

Giordano (0-1) suffered the loss after working the final two innings for Franklin Pierce. He surrendered the one unearned run on two hits, walked one and struck out four. Earlier in the day, junior right-hander Jack Wallace (Winthrop, Mass.) started and threw 48 pitches (38 strikes) over the first five innings for Franklin Pierce. He allowed one run on three hits and struck out one.

The eighth-inning run made a winner out of the Jefferson starter, junior right-hander Gunnar Hayes (1-1), who plowed through the first seven innings on 96 pitches (59 strikes). He allowed one run on just three hits, walked one and struck out three. Senior right-hander Brett Chupka threw scoreless, one-hit ball over the final two innings to chalk up his second save of the season.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (https://www.fpuravens.com). 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' brand new online store (https://www.shopfpuravens.com).