MANCHESTER, N.H. (May 16, 2021) -- Senior Jonel Ozuna (New York, N.Y.) had a day on Sunday. The first baseman clubbed four home runs and drove in eight runs over the course of a doubleheader at Penmen Field. The Franklin Pierce University baseball team could capitalize with only win though, as the Ravens split a doubleheader on the road at No. 20/23 nationally ranked Southern New Hampshire, to open the best-of-three Northeast Division final of the Northeast-10 Conference Championship. Franklin Pierce drilled four home runs on the way to a 9-7 win in the opener, and SNHU scored single runs in the ninth and 10^th innings to post a 4-3 victory in the second game.

With the split, Franklin Pierce, the division's second seed, moves to 21-8, while SNHU, the division's top seed, now stands at 21-6. The decisive third game of the series is set for noon Monday at Penmen Field. The Southwest Division final, featuring top seed Adelphi and second-seeded Le Moyne, is headed for a third game on Monday as well, at Adelphi.

Game 1: Franklin Pierce 9, Southern New Hampshire 7

With the Ravens clinging to a 6-5 lead late, senior Jonel Ozuna (New York, N.Y.) provided the first game's keynote address in the top of the ninth inning. After a two-out error and a walk put a pair of runners on, the Penmen starter, junior right-hander Jeffrey Praml, exited in favor of right-hander Ricky Alexy. Ozuna greeted the sophomore rudely, as he blasted a three-run shot to right, spiked his bat 20 feet down the first-base line and proceeded into his home run trot in what was now a 9-5 game. Ozuna's second homer of the game was his team-leading ninth of the season.

SNHU would make things interesting in the last of the ninth. After a leadoff single, freshman Michael LaRocca clubbed a two-run dinger to right-center, his third of the campaign, to cut the lead to 9-7. Later in the frame, with two outs and a runner on via a wild pitch on a strikeout, freshman Danniel Rivera went the other way and gave one a ride to deep left-center. Junior center fielder Joel Lara (Boston, Mass.) settled under it on the warning track and made the catch though, to finish things off.

Earlier in the day, Franklin Pierce started the series with a bang, as graduate student Tyler Patane (Lake Grove, N.Y.) and Ozuna went back-to-back in the top of the first. After SNHU got one back on an RBI fielder's choice from junior Idelson Taveras in the second, the Ravens used a three-run third to push the lead out to 5-1. Ozuna drove in another, as part of his five-RBI game, with a groundout; senior Dylan Jones (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) ripped an RBI double; and another run scored on an error.

Patane socked his second homer of the game in the top of the seventh, but then a partial bullpen meltdown from the Ravens trimmed the lead down to 6-4. Freshman Christian Mercedes hit a solo homer in the inning, but the two other runs came in via bases-loaded walks, as it took three Franklin Pierce pitchers to record the final out of the frame. An RBI single from graduate student Marcus Chavez in the eighth made it 6-5 and set up the late theatrics from Ozuna.

Meanwhile, graduate student right-hander Seb Gruszecki (Dudley, Mass.) worked through six solid innings, threw 84 pitches (53 strikes) and picked up the win (5-0). He allowed one run on six hits, walked one and struck out four.

On the other side, Praml (5-2) largely settled in after the early trouble, but left with an ugly line after Ozuna's homer in the ninth. Praml was ultimately charged with eight runs (five earned) on seven hits, walked one, hit three batters and struck out nine over 8.2 innings and 128 pitches (80 strikes).

Game 2: Southern New Hampshire 4, Franklin Pierce 3

The Jonel Ozuna Show continued early in the second game, with the Ravens playing as the home team. The senior clubbed a two-run home run in the bottom of the first, then drilled a solo shot in the last of the fourth, to make it four long balls on the day, as well as homers in three straight plate appearances.

In between the two blasts, SNHU picked up two runs in the top of the third on a double into the gap in right-center by junior Sam Henrie.

The game stayed stuck on 3-2 all the way to the top of the ninth, and then the Penmen forced Monday's game in dramatic fashion. Senior right-hander Derek Duffy (Farmington, Conn.) came back out for the ninth and retired the first batter, but then junior Dakota Mulcay -- SNHU's cleanup hitter, who had been held to just 1-for-8 so far in the twinbill -- socked a game-tying solo home run to left field.

Duffy then retired the final two batters of the ninth. After SNHU graduate student right-hander Nick Artymowicz struck out the side in the last of the ninth, junior right-hander Ryan Mueller (Lynbrook, N.Y.) took over for the Ravens in the top of the 10^th. Taveras greeted him with a single, stole second and then scored on a double deep into the gap in right-center by graduate student Joshua Goldstein. Franklin Pierce went in order in the bottom of the 10^th against Artymowicz, who threw three scoreless innings and struck out five to pick up the win in relief (6-1).

Duffy needed only 108 pitches (72 strikes) to get through nine innings, but was left with a no-decision after the ninth-inning homer. He allowed three runs on four hits, walked one and struck out five. Mueller (0-2) took the loss out of the bullpen.

Graduate student right-hander Wesley Tobin started for SNHU and also did not factor in the decision. He threw 94 pitches (56 strikes) over seven innings, surrendered three runs on three hits, walked three and struck out five.