RINDGE, N.H. (April 28, 2021) -- It was a veritable conga line around the basepaths at Pappas Field on Wednesday afternoon, as the Franklin Pierce University baseball team's bats played in fortissimo throughout a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader against Saint Michael's. The hits came early and often, and rarely stopped over the course of five hours, as the Ravens' offense marched to the beat of 40 hits and waltzed across the plate 45 times on the way to wins of 30-8 and 15-0. Sophomore Ian Battipaglia (Cheshire, Conn.) and senior Jonel Ozuna (New York, N.Y.) served as maestros of the proceedings, as they drove in 11 and 10 runs, respectively.

With the wins, Franklin Pierce has won five in a row and improves to 14-4 (11-3 NE10). With the loss, Saint Michael's falls to 1-18 (1-17 NE10). The two teams will meet on Saturday, May 8 at Pappas Field to wrap up the four-game season series.

Game 1: Franklin Pierce 30, Saint Michael's 8

In the first game, Franklin Pierce used a 13-run, 12-hit bottom of the fourth inning to break things wide open and expand a 3-0 lead all the way out to 16-0. The Ravens plated all 13 of the frame's runs before Saint Michael's could record an out. In all, 19 batters came to the plate, and junior Joel Lara (Boston, Mass.) had the distinction of leading off with a single, scoring, singling again and scoring again, before ultimately flying out for the final out of the inning.

Graduate student Tyler Patane (Lake Grove, N.Y.) provided the keynote address of the inning with a no-doubt grand slam down the right-field line and onto the adjacent Sodexo Field. The blast checked in at an estimated 370 feet and was his third home run of the season. Patane had six RBIs in the inning alone, as he had clubbed a two-run double to left earlier in the frame. Also in the inning, junior Graham Smith (Wilmington, Mass.) unloaded the bases with a three-run double to left-center and graduate student James Boria (Massapequa, N.Y.) socked a two-run double to right-center.

Franklin Pierce would later add four in the sixth, three in the seventh and five more in the eighth on the way to the first 30-run game in program history. For its part, Saint Michael's notched four in the sixth, three in the seventh and one in the eighth against the Ravens' bullpen to match the team's season high with eight runs.

In addition to Patane's grand slam, Ozuna went deep in the first game as well. His third of the season was a three-run shot of an estimated 385 feet into the left-center field power alley.

Sophomore right-hander Andres Auffant (Center Moriches, N.Y.) took the ball for the Ravens and threw 60 pitches (37 strikes) over five scoreless innings to chalk up the win (2-1). He allowed three hits, walked one, hit a batter and struck out six.

Junior right-hander Ozzie Rodriguez (0-4) got the start and the loss on the hill for Saint Michael's. He threw 73 pitches (43 strikes) over three-plus innings, was tagged for seven runs on 10 hits, walked two, hit two batters and struck out one.

Game 2: Franklin Pierce 15, Saint Michael's 0

The second game of the day was a seven-inning affair, but Franklin Pierce still found plenty of time for offense. The Ravens were held scoreless only in the second, as they plated one in the first, five in the third, four in the fourth, three in the fifth and two more in the sixth on the way to the 15-0 shutout.

The Ravens dialed long distance four times in the second game, a feat the team accomplished for the second time in five days. In the bottom of the third, junior Randy Flores (Brooklyn, N.Y.) flipped the bat aside after crushing a two-run shot, his third of the campaign, an estimated 380 feet into the power alley in right-center. In the last of the fifth, it was a two-run shot for Battipaglia, who went 7-for-9 and scored seven times in the doubleheader, in addition to his 11 RBIs. The sophomore's second home run of the year narrowly cleared the fence in left-center and covered an estimated distance of 370 feet.

Franklin Pierce added a pair of solo homers in the sixth to round out the scoring, as Ozuna and senior Dylan Jones (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) went back-to-back to open the frame. Ozuna's team-leading fourth of the season went to deep right-center field, for an estimated shot of 385 feet. Not to be outdone, Jones followed with his fourth of the year as well, to provide a coda to an afternoon full of offense. The day's signature blast flew an estimated 405 feet into the power alley in left-center and cleared the first row of vehicles in the adjacent parking lot before bounding away across the asphalt.

Freshman right-hander Sean Foody (Tappan, N.Y.) made his collegiate debut on the mound for the Ravens and used 72 pitches (50 strikes) to author six scoreless innings. He allowed three hits, hit two batters and struck out six.

It was more rough times on the other side of the ledger for Saint Michael's pitching. Freshman right-hander Jared Duquette (1-2) took the ball and threw it 97 times (58 strikes) over four innings. He was touched up for 10 runs on nine hits, walked three and struck out two.

The Ravens are scheduled to return to action on Saturday and Sunday, May 1-2, for a four-game weekend series at Southern New Hampshire. First pitch is set for noon each day at Penmen Field in Manchester, N.H.