RINDGE, N.H. (May 28, 2021) -- Top-seeded and No. 14/22 nationally ranked Southern New Hampshire left the defense on the bus on Friday afternoon, but it did not matter, as the Penmen made sure to bring all their bats. SNHU made four errors, but junior Dakota Mulcay went 2-for-4 with a gargantuan home run and drove in four to pace a 13-hit attack, as the Penmen put together a 14-6 romp to eliminate the fourth seed and host Franklin Pierce University baseball team, on the second day of the NCAA Championship East Regional.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce saw its season wrap up at 22-11. With the win, SNHU improves to 26-6 and will play at 3 p.m. Saturday, in what will effectively be an East Region semifinal, in Game 7 of the tournament. The Penmen will face the winner of Game 6, which was rescheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday and features Goldey-Beacom and Molloy. The winner of Game 7 will be 3-0 in the tournament and advance through the championship round.

After a run in the first, SNHU opened up an early 5-0 lead with a four-spot in the top of the fourth. After a single by freshman Christian Mercedes and a sacrifice fly by graduate student Marcus Chavez drove in the first two runs of the inning, Mulcay came to the plate, unloaded on a 2-2 pitch and flipped the bat aside as he strutted down the first-base line. When the ball eventually returned to the planet, it was an estimated 415 feet away and a two-run homer, Mulcay's team-leading 11^th of the season.

Later, trailing 6-2, the Ravens showed some heart, as they rallied for four in the bottom of the sixth to level the game at 6-6. After a single and an error set the stage, sophomore Ian Battipaglia (Cheshire, Conn.) lifted a sacrifice fly to plate the first run. Then, singles from juniors Graham Smith (Wilmington, Mass.) and Joel Lara (Boston, Mass.) loaded the bases for fellow junior Randy Flores (Brooklyn, N.Y.) at the top of the order. Flores rifled the ball the other way, down the right-field line and into the corner, to plate all three runs with a game-tying double.

It was all downhill from there for Franklin Pierce though, as SNHU responded immediately, with five in the top of the seventh. The Penmen had four hits in the inning, though none for extra bases, and utilized a pair of walks and an error along the way to help the cause. Mulcay drove in two more when he laced a bases-loaded single to center field, and junior Sam Henrie pushed a two-run single through the left side as part of his own four-RBI day, and the rout was on. Three more in the eighth created the 14-6 final.

Graduate student right-hander Derek Duffy (Farmington, Conn.) started on the mound for the Ravens, but threw only the first inning before departing with an apparent injury. Fellow graduate student Shawn Babineau (Ashland, Mass.) came back one day after throwing 60 pitches in Thursday's start to log 2.1 innings and suffered the loss (3-3) as the third of seven Franklin Pierce pitchers. The southpaw allowed four runs, though all were unearned, on two hits, walked one and struck out two.

Junior right-hander Alex Gomes took the ball for SNHU, went 5.1 innings and left with a no-decision after serving up the Flores game-tying double. He threw 98 pitches (67 strikes), allowed six runs (three earned) on seven hits, walked two and struck out four. Graduate student right-hander Nick Artymowicz (8-1) threw 2.1 scoreless innings of one-hit relief to pick up the win.