Ravens honor seven seniors during pregame Senior Day ceremony

RINDGE, N.H. (May 2, 2013) – The offense of the Franklin Pierce University baseball team piled up 23 runs on 24 hits across two games on Thursday afternoon, as it swept a Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division doubleheader from Saint Michael's, 12-2 and 11-0, at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field. In the second game, junior right-hander Kevin McGowan (Nashua, N.H.) struck out seven over six shutout, three-hit innings of work, as four pitchers combined to throw a three-hit shutout.

With the sweep, Franklin Pierce improves to 31-15 (21-6 Northeast-10, 14-6 Northeast Division), while Saint Michael's falls to 12-29 (8-21 Northeast-10, 4-17 Northeast Division). The wins give Franklin Pierce a sweep in the three-game season series between the two clubs, as the Ravens downed Saint Michael's 3-2 in 10 innings on April 4 at Pappas Field. The Ravens have now reached the 30-win plateau for the 12th straight season.

The Ravens -- who clinched a Northeast-10 Championship berth on Tuesday -- remain one game behind first-place Bentley in the loss column at the top of the Northeast Division standings, though the Falcons trailed Massachusetts Lowell 5-2 on the road in the sixth inning at press time. Franklin Pierce will wrap up its regular season on Saturday night at third-place Southern New Hampshire, which sits one game behind Franklin Pierce and has only the one game remaining as well. A win for the Ravens will clinch a home game on Tuesday, May 7 in the first round of next week's Northeast-10 Championship. A win combined with two losses by Bentley in its three-game weekend series at Lowell would allow Franklin Pierce to claim the Northeast Division crown outright. First pitch on Saturday night is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Penmen Field in Manchester, N.H.

(NOTE, 10 p.m. Thursday: Bentley lost at Lowell, 6-3 on Thursday night. A win Saturday night at SNHU by Franklin Pierce will clinch a share of the Northeast Division crown, along with a first-round home game. A win, combined with another loss by Bentley over the weekend, would give the Ravens the outright division title. Bentley plays single games at Lowell on Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.)

The Saint Michael's pitching staff did its team no favors in the first game on Thursday afternoon, as four pitchers combined to issue eight walks, hit three batters and throw four wild pitches, while recording only four strikeouts along the way. Junior right-hander Nick Myers took the ball first and lasted only two-plus innings, as he faced six men in the third and retired none of them. Overall, he faced 14 batters while recording just six outs, allowed five runs (four earned) on just one hit, walked six, hit a batter and struck out one to take the loss (4-3). Senior right-hander Andrew DuPrat took over from there, allowed one of three inherited runners to score and ultimately allowed four runs on three hits, one walk and two hit batsmen over the next three innings, while striking out two.

Saint Michael's had opened the scoring in the first game with an unearned run in the top of the first inning. The first two batters of the game reached on errors on the first two pitches of the afternoon by junior right-hander Trevor Graham (Sebastian, Fla.). Freshman third baseman Matt Feeney hit a one-hopper to short on the first pitch which Franklin Pierce senior shortstop Dan Kemp (Sturbridge, Mass.) couldn't handle and sophomore shortstop Don McGuirl attempted to drop down a sacrifice bunt, but Graham mishandled it to put runners at first and second with nobody out. On the first pitch of the next at-bat, Feeney strayed too far from second and Franklin Pierce sophomore catcher Matt Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.) threw down to Kemp to pick him off. A single through the right side by junior designated hitter Alec Tice put runners back at first and second, and then a groundout moved them to second and third with two outs. With junior right fielder Nick Nelson at the plate, Graham spun to second to try to pick off Tice, but threw the ball into center field for his second error of the inning, allowing McGuirl to score from third.

Franklin Pierce answered immediately with a run in the home half of the first. Myers got off to an inauspicious start and walked both junior left fielder Calvin Graves (Boston, Mass.) and Kemp on eight straight pitches to open the inning. After a double steal put runners at second and third, junior first baseman Zach Mathieu (Derry, N.H.) lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to drive home Graves.

The Ravens pushed the lead to 5-1 with four runs while sending nine men to the plate in the bottom of the third. Again the inning started with a four-pitch walk, this one to freshman second baseman Justin Brock (Latham, N.Y.), who stole second and scored on an RBI single into right center by Graves, who stole second as well. Kemp chopped a ball back to the pitcher, but Myers threw it away, allowing Graves to come around to score and Kemp to reach at first. Mathieu was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second and start action in the Saint Michael's bullpen. Things didn't get any better for Myers, as he walked senior right fielder Nick LaCroix (Grafton, Mass.) and Walsh on four pitches each to load the bases and force in a run, respectively. The RBI walk spelled the end of the day for Myers, and the start of DuPrat's outing. The latter got a ground ball to shortstop, but McGuirl double-clutched the throw and Saint Michael's only got an out at second base on the play as Mathieu came home to score the final run of the inning.

Another run in the bottom of the fourth stretched the lead to 6-1. With two outs and nobody on, Kemp turned on a 1-1 pitch and ripped his fourth home run of the season, a solo shot which traveled approximately 330 feet down the left-field line.

The Ravens broke the game open with three more runs in the bottom of the fifth to push the lead all the way to 9-1. After a hit batsman, a walk and a wild pitch put runners at second and third, sophomore center fielder John Razzino (Cranston, R.I.) bounced a single back up the middle to drive in a run. Also in the inning, sophomore third baseman Matt O'Herron (Springfield, Mass.) brought home a run when he reached on a fielder's choice, and Razzino scored when Brock grounded into a double play.

Franklin Pierce rounded out its scoring with two in the sixth and one in the eighth, while Saint Michael's picked up one in the eighth as well to create the 12-2 final. In the sixth, Walsh had an RBI single back up the middle, while junior designated hitter Marty Dunlap (Dorchester, Mass.) pulled an RBI single through the left side of the infield. In the top of the eighth, junior right fielder Corey Livingston had an RBI groundout for Saint Michael's. In the bottom of the eighth, Walsh singled and later scored on an error to cap the Franklin Pierce scoring.

Graham went seven innings on the mound for the Ravens, allowing just one unearned run on four hits. He walked one, hit two batters, struck out three and threw 87 pitches while picking up the win (8-1).

Franklin Pierce opened the scoring in the second game with an unearned run in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back. With one out, Kemp reached on an error by sophomore third baseman Danny Caddigan. Kemp then stole second and scored when Mathieu went the other way and drove an RBI double into the gap in right-center.

The Ravens added three more in the bottom of the second to stretch the lead to 4-0. Dunlap, who caught the second game, led-off with a line-drive single to left, but was erased at second base as Razzino reached on a fielder's choice and then stole second. He scored from there when O'Herron knocked a single past a diving Caddigan at third and into left field. O'Herron would wind up scoring from first as the Saint Michael's defense made a mess of the next play. Brock hit the ball deep in the hole at shortstop and McGuirl attempted to throw across his body to first despite having no chance to retire Brock, who beat the throw with time to spare. To compound the mental error, the throw was well down the first-base line towards home plate and got past sophomore first baseman George Buteau, allowing the runners to advance to second and third. When Buteau got to the ball, he attempted to throw Brock out at second, but the throw was in the dirt and escaped into left field, allowing O'Herron to score and Brock to move to third on the play's second error. Brock scored when Graves followed with an RBI groundout to shortstop.

Franklin Pierce kept the offense clicking with a run in the bottom of the third to make it 5-0. Mathieu worked a seven-pitch walk leading off and would steal second three batters later. He scored from there on an RBI single to left by Dunlap.

Another run in the fourth extended the lead to 6-0. O'Herron opened the inning with a single into left-center field, moved to second when Brock grounded out to second base and went to third on a groundout by Graves. Kemp then pulled a 2-1 pitch over the bag at third and down the left-field line for an RBI triple.

If the game wasn't already broken open, the Ravens did just that in the bottom of the fifth, when they tacked on five more runs, which ultimately created the 11-0 final. O'Herron had the biggest blow of the inning with an RBI double inside the bag at first and down the right-field line the other way, while Walsh and Brock both had RBI singles. Elsewhere in the inning, Graves drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and O'Herron eventually scored on a wild pitch.

Meanwhile, McGowan was cruising through his six innings of work, facing only 21 batters and throwing only 74 pitches before being pulled with the big lead, with an eye towards keeping him fresh heading into the postseason. He allowed three hits over six shutout innings, did not issue a walk, got nine groundball outs and struck out seven in the win (6-1). Three pitchers worked an inning each in relief, as the Franklin Pierce bullpen did not allow a hit, only surrendered two baserunners and rang up five strikeouts the rest of the way.

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).