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The Franklin Pierce University baseball team was selected as the sixth seed for this week's NCAA Championship East Regional, hosted by Southern New Hampshire at Penmen Field in Manchester, N.H. The Ravens open the double-elimination tournament on Thursday, May 16, against Wilmington (Del.) at 11 a.m. The East Regional's other particpants are second-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas, third-seeded New Haven, fourth-seeded Southern New Hampshire and fifth-seeded Pace. The Ravens are five-time NCAA Regional champions (2010, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2003) and finished thethe Northeast Division champions in the Northeast-10.

Below is our final update to this blog, as the Ravens wrapped up the weekend by claiming the East Regional title. Check back later this week, when we'll debut the National Finals edition of "On the Road with the Ravens"

Monday Afternoon: Championship Wrap-Up

The Ravens laid claim to the East Regional title on Sunday afternoon with a 5-1 triumph over Wilmington in the title game. Kevin McGowan came back on 26 hours' rest to log two scoreless innings to set the tone, and then Ryan Leach held the Wildcats to three hits and one unearned run over the next six-plus innings to pick up the win. Matt Walsh drove in a run with a fourth-inning single, Justin Brock hit an RBI triple in the sixth and Joe Flynn provided the exclamation mark by getting a called strike three to end the game. Our game story (here) has all the details, we've put together a photo gallery (here) of some of the celebratory aftermath, and WMUR had highlights of the game (here) above and beyond what we'll share here.

On with the video we took in Manchester on Sunday. First up, here's Flynn ringing up Mike Annone for the final out, as well as the initial celebration of the 2013 East Region champs:

Next, it was time for the team to claim the trophy. Senior captain Dan Kemp was the first to get his hands on it, but he was quickly mobbed by the rest of the team:

Shortly after, seniors Nick LaCroix and Vladimir Camacho waited until Head Coach Jayson King was distracted by a team meeting, and then grabbed a jug of water from the dugout and doused him in shallow left field:

Now, on to the game highlights. Let's start from the beginning and work our way forward. Wilmington had the first chance to score, in the top of the third, as it loaded the bases with two outs after an infield hit and a pair of hit batsmen. Leach left them all out there though, as he sawed Matt Lopes' bat in half and got an inning-ending groundout to Kemp at shortstop.

Wilmington had started with ace David Hatt on the mound, but he had to exit after three, as he had thrown seven innings against Franklin Pierce on Thursday in the opening game of the regional. Tim Racek took over, and the Ravens greeted him rudely. A lead-off double by Kemp, a single by Zach Mathieu and an error allowing LaCroix to reach loaded the bases with nobody out. Matt Walsh brought home the first run of the title game by lining a 2-2 pitch to left field for an RBI single:

Marty Dunlap was next, and hit a groundball to shortstop. The second run of the inning would have scored even on a double play, but Dunlap picked up an RBI as he legged out the back end of a fielder's choice when the throw pulled the first baseman off the bag:

The Ravens got on the board again in the bottom of the sixth, with Matt O'Herron at first, John Razzino at third and Justin Brock at the plate with two away. Coach King had O'Herron leave first early, hoping to draw a rundown which would last long enough for Razzino to get home with a run. The play did one better, as Wilmington second baseman Brendan Fallers dropped the throw after the pitcher stepped off the rubber. Razzino scored uncontested and O'Herron scampered back to first:

The error proved even more costly, when Brock drilled the second pitch of his at-bat into the gap in left-center field to score O'Herron from first. Leach now had a 4-0 lead to work with, but Wilmington scratched back a run in the top of the seventh and had another runner at second with two away, as the Wildcats threatened to make the game close again. Leach averted further trouble by inducing an inning-ending groundout to Kemp by Jordan Johnson:

In all, Leach produced 11 groundball outs in his six-plus innings of work. Wilmington threatened again in the top of the eighth, getting the tying run to the plate by putting runners at first and second with one out on a hit batter and an unsuccesful fielder's choice attempt by the Franklin Pierce defense. Leach rolled up yet another ground ball to Kemp, which started a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. They were the final outs recorded by Leach on the day, as he left the mound with an energetic fist pump.

Lasly, the Ravens tacked on one last insurance run in the bottom of the eighth to create the 5-1 final, before Flynn finished things to set off the celebrations seen above. Dunlap singled and was lifted for Ryan Boswell, who went first-to-third on an errant pickoff throw. Razzino then laid down a squeeze bunt, and the speedy Boswell beat the throw home:

Saturday Night: Ravens Advance to Title Game After Wild Win Over SNHU

We can't do Saturday night's 13-inning semifinal affair with SNHU justice in this limited space, so if you go read our game story (here), we'll just make straight with the videos, and we've got a lot of them.

Marty Dunlap drove in two runs in extra innings, one each in the 11th and 13th. The latter held up as the game-winning hit in the 3-2 victory. After the dust settled, we talked with him about his day at the plate, as well as the numerous pitching performances he caught on the night:

Though he was long gone by the time the game was decided, Vladimir Camacho was stellar in his start on Saturday night. Dunlap called it "his best start of the year." After the game, we talked to Camacho about his outing, and also about the "old school bleep" of Trevor Graham:

Doug Willey faced plenty of adversity in his 3.2 innings of relief work on Saturday night, but he battled through all of it, keeping the Ravens alive for long enough for Dunlap to drive in the winning run in the 13th. Afterwards, we talked with Willey about his appearance and also found out he's ready to go again on Sunday if need be:

Graham, who threw 98 pitches in a complete game on Thursday, came on with two outs in the 13th on one day of rest. After a walk to the first man he faced, he snared this comebacker off the check swing of Andy Lalli to set off the celebration for the Ravens:

Now, we've got a whole bunch of other highlight videos from the day, and we'll work through them from the beginning. First up is Camacho getting a ground ball to Justin Brock at second base to strand the bases loaded in the bottom of the second:

For the longest time on Saturday night, the only run of the game came on this RBI single to right field by Matt Walsh, who drove in Zach Mathieu. Mathieu went 0-for-4 in the game, but wound up scoring all three of Franklin Pierce's runs anyway.

Camacho got a flyout to center by Al Stanton to strand Brendan O'Brien at third in the bottom of the fifth:

After SNHU rallied for the tie in the top of the eighth, Camacho made sure the Penmen didn't take the lead as well, by getting Bryan Toland to pop up to Brock to strand a runner at third:

Nick LaCroix set the table for the Ravens in the top of the 11th with a hard-hit ground ball towards third, which turned into a double off the head of former Raven Riley Palmer, who would be okay to stay in the game:

Two batters later, Dunlap would have his first extra-inning plate appearance of the night and brought home Mathieu from third with a sacrifice fly to right field:

The Penmen rallied to tie the game at 2-2 off Willey in the bottom of the 11th, after his control abandoned him momentarily. With the winning (and season-ending) run at third with one out, Willey got an infield pop-up and then this sliding catch by LaCroix in right field to strand the bases loaded:

Finally, the Ravens got a run which would stand up in the top of the 13th. Dunlap came to the plate again, this time with two outs and Mathieu at third. He ripped a ball towards shortstop and then picked up the RBI single as it took a fortunate hop up over the head of Matt Boulter:

Saturday Afternoon: McGowan, O'Herron Lead Way in 8-1 Win Over Pace

Kevin McGowan went the distance on Saturday afternoon, and Matt O'Herron went 4-for-4 as the Franklin Pierce lineup supported McGowan with eight runs in an 8-1 win over Pace. You can read all about it in our game story (here), and the Ravens will face elimination again on Saturday, at 7 p.m. against host SNHU. After the game, we talked to McGowan about his outing:

We also chatted with Matt O'Herron about his day at the plate and took a brief look ahead to the game against the Penmen on Saturday night:

We also collected a handful of highlights during the afternoon. Here's the final out of the game, as McGowan finishes the complete game by getting Bobby Horn to fly out to Nick LaCroix in center field:

Now, we'll work through the rest of the game from the beginning. With the Ravens staked to a 1-0 lead, the top of the third would wind up being one of the final times the outcome was in question. Pace used a pair of singles to get runners to first and third with one out, but then McGowan got this slick double play up the middle by Dan Kemp and Justin Brock to end the inning. Though obscured by the Pace third-base coach, Kemp snagged the ball on a slide and flipped with his glove to Brock at second.

Immediately after the zero, the Franklin Pierce lineup got McGowan three runs in the bottom half of the third to push the lead to 4-0. Zach Mathieu had worked a bases-loaded walk earlier in the inning, and here Matt Walsh takes a 3-1 pitch for ball four to force home another run:

Still in the bottom of the third, Kemp caps the inning's scoring with this straight steal off home off Josh Garran:

Our final clip of the game also prominently features Kemp, who came to the plate with two in scoring position and two outs. He turned the 5-0 lead into a 7-0 margin by lining a single to right-center to plate both runners:

Friday Afternoon: Ravens Fall to New Haven, 3-1

With one win already in their pockets, the Ravens squared off with New Haven at 3 p.m. Friday on the second day of the East Regional. Before the game, we talked with Assistant Coach Mike Chambers about the upcoming matchup:

The Ravens got 11 strikeouts from Steve Hathaway, and 15 strikeouts from the pitching staff as a whole, but came up on the short end of a 3-1 score. You can read all about the contest in our game story (here). We didn't collect much in the way of footage, but here's Franklin Pierce's lone run, courtesy of an RBI double into the right-field corner by Zach Mathieu.

Thursday Afternoon: Graham Blanks Wilmington, 7-0

The Ravens opened the East Regional in style on Thursday afternoon, with a 7-0 win over Wilmington, behind a three-hit, 10-strikeout effort from Trevor Graham, and a pair of extra-base hits from Dan Kemp. Our game story (here) has all the details, and after the game, we talked to both of them. First up, Graham:

Here's Kemp:

Now, on to the highlights from the game. First up is Graham getting Joe El'Bisi to chase a pitch in the dirt for the final out and Graham's 10th strikeout of the day:

Now we'll work forward from the start of the game. Graham got in a little trouble in the bottom of the second, as he hit two batters to put runners at first and second with one out. He worked out of the threat though, by getting Brandon Payne to bounce into this 6-4-3, inning-ending double play:

Already with a 1-0 lead, Calvin Graves opened the top of the third with a double. After moving to third on a sacrifice bunt, he scored on this sacrifice fly by Zach Mathieu:

In the fourth, Dan Kemp came to the plate with bases loaded. He took the first two pitches for balls and then pulled this two-run double inside the bag at third to push the lead to 5-0:

Lastly, here's another highlight featuring Kemp. He smoked a one-out triple in the seventh and later scored on this wild pitch:

Wednesday Evening: Trevor Graham Previews His Start

Wednesday brought the Ravens inside 24 hours remaining until their East Regional opener against top seed Wilmington. The team got some swings in on Pappas Field in the morning, before departing for Southern New Hampshire and getting an hour of practice in at Penmen Field, as allowed by NCAA Championship protocol.

On Tuesday evening, before the team left, we had a quick chat with junior right-hander Trevor Graham, who will start on the mound for the Ravens on Thursday morning. We touched on the honor of being named Northeast-10 Pitcher of the Year, and took a brief look ahead to Thursday's start.

Tuesday Evening: Interviews with King, Weagle

Tuesday evening brought another day of practice for the Ravens at Pappas Field. It marked the final formal on-campus practice for the team, which will hit briefly at Pappas Field on Wednesday morning before departing for SNHU, where the Ravens will practice on Wednesday afternoon.

We dropped by practice again on Tuesday to grab another pair of interviews, this time with coaches. First, we talked with Head Coach Jayson King about how he feels is team is shaping up in advance of its attempt to claim its sixth regional title. We chatted with King about Franklin Pierce's four-game series with Wilmington back in March, as well as the team's approach at the plate over the last few weeks. In closing, we asked for his keys to success for the weekend.

Next, we grabbed Assistant Coach Matt Weagle, who serves as the team's pitching coach. We talked to the former Ravens pitcher about the successes the staff has had in 2013, and how they've grown over the course of the year. More relavent to Thursday's game, we chatted with Weagle about Trevor Graham's tremendous season, as well as what he'll look for out of Graham on Thursday. Lastly, much like the interview with King, we asked Weagle what the keys to success are for the pitching staff over the course of the weekend.

Monday Evening: Interviews with Mathieu, Kemp

After taking Sunday off, the Ravens came back to the field on Monday evening to begin their final preparations before Thursday's East Regional opener against Wilmington. With about 72 hours remaining until first pitch, we snagged a pair of interviews with Raven infielders during practice.

NOTE: our apologies for the audio issues in both of today's interviews; it was not the best day for filming at Pappas Field. We've posted both videos anyway, because we believe the contest that IS audible is very much worth watching. We'll try to be better tomorrow.

First up was junior first baseman Zach Mathieu, the 2012 Northeast-10 Player of the Year and an All-Northeast-10 First Team selection this season. He is headed into his third East Regional and is a key cog in the Franklin Pierce offense. We talked to Mathieu about hitting in general, as well as his personal goals; he's not happy with his past regional performance, and is looking to improve things in 2013.

Next, we talked with senior captain and four-year starting shortstop Dan Kemp, an All Northeast-10 First Team selection himself this season. We talked to him first about how it felt to finally earn recognition at the Conference level, before chatting about his leadership role on the team. Kemp was a member of Franklin Pierce's 2010 East Regional championship team and is excited to try to wrap up his career with another trip to Cary, N.C. and the National Finals.