Walsh drives in three

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (February 24, 2013) – Senior shortstop Dan Kemp (Sturbridge, Mass.) and freshman second baseman Justin Brock (Latham, N.Y.) had three hits and scored two runs each on Saturday afternoon to lead the No. 9/12 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team to an 8-5 win over Chestnut Hill in non-conference, neutral-site play at The Ripken Experience. Senior shortstop Joseph Crane went 2-for-5 and drove in three runs in the loss for Chestnut Hill.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 4-0 (0-0 Northeast-10), while Chestnut Hill falls to 0-3 (0-0 Central Atlantic).

Franklin Pierce opened the scoring with a run in the top of the second inning. With two outs, junior catcher Marty Dunlap (Montgomery, N.Y.) singled and came all the way around to score on a double by sophomore third baseman Matthew O'Herron (Springfield, Mass.).

The Ravens stretched the lead to 3-0 with two runs in the top of the third. Kemp led off the inning with a double and scored two batters later on an RBI single by sophomore catcher Matt Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.). Walsh moved to second on a single by senior right fielder Nick LaCroix (Grafton, Mass.), took third on a passed ball and scored on an RBI groundout by Dunlap.

Chestnut Hill answered with three in the bottom of the third to tie the game at 3-3. Sophomore right fielder Michael McLaughlin was hit by a pitch to start the inning, stole second, moved to third on a single by freshman catcher Brendan Looby and scored two batters later on an RBI single by freshman third baseman Brian Happ. Later in the inning, Happ stole second and junior center fielder Desmond Lites reached on a fielder's choice which saw Looby erased at the plate. Both Happ and Lites would score on a two-run single by Crane.

Franklin Pierce immediately reclaimed the lead at 5-3 with two runs in the top of the fourth. Senior left fielder Eric Romano (North Branford, Conn.) led off with a single and moved to second on a bunt single by Brock. Three batters later, after a walk to junior center fielder Calvin Graves (Boston, Mass.) had loaded the bases, junior first baseman Zach Mathieu (Derry, N.H.) drove home Romano with an RBI single. Walsh then worked a walk to force home Brock.

The Ravens added another run in the sixth and two in the eighth to push the lead to 8-3. In the sixth, Brock worked a lead-off walk, moved to second on a Graves sacrifice bunt and scored on a single by Kemp. In the eighth, Kemp hit a one-out single and scored on a triple by Mathieu, who scored on a sacrifice fly by Walsh.

Chestnut Hill picked up two runs in the bottom of the ninth to create the 8-5 final. Working against sophomore right-hander Travis Landry (Loudon, N.H.), freshman first baseman Patrick Campion hit a one-out single and moved to second on a single by Happ. After a walk to Lites loaded the bases, Crane produced an RBI groundout to score Campion. After a walk loaded the bases with two outs and a passed ball scored Happ, another walk loaded the bases and put the tying run on first. This chased Landry from the game, as the Ravens turned to sophomore right-hander Doug Willey (Shelburne, N.H.), who induced a comebacker from junior first baseman Joseph Mullin to end the game and earn his first career save.

Junior right-hander Ryan Leach (Farmingdale, Maine) started, surrendered three runs on five hits over four innings, walked one, hit a batter, struck out two and did not factor in the decision. Senior right-hander Matt Horan (Boston, Mass.) pitched the fifth and six innings, as well as to the first two batters of the seventh. He did not allow a run, surrendered one hit, walked two and struck out one to pick up the win (1-0).

Sophomore left-hander Dane Gahr started and threw 5.1 innings for Chestnut Hill. He allowed six runs (five earned) on 10 hits, walked five, hit a batter and struck out three on his way to the loss (0-1).

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).