Leach fans seven over four innings of relief

Box score (Game 1)
Box score (Game 2) 

RINDGE, N.H. (April 12, 2014) – Senior center fielder Calvin Graves (Boston, Mass.) went 4-for-5 with a home run and a triple, scored twice and drove in four runs in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon to lead the No. 29 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team to a 9-5 win over Merrimack in Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division play at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field. Sophomore third baseman Frank Crinella went 3-for-4 with a double, scored twice and drove in three runs to lead Merrimack to a 12-4 win in the second game, as the Franklin Pierce starting lineup managed just two hits before being removed from the game after six innings.

With the split, Franklin Pierce moves to 24-12 (11-5 Northeast-10, 6-4 Northeast Division), while Merrimack moves to 15-14 (9-9 Northeast-10, 3-5 Northeast Division). The two teams will wrap up the three-game weekend series with the rubber game on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Pappas Field.

Merrimack opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first inning. The second batter of the game, Crinella, was jammed, but dumped a one-out single inside the right-field line. He then stole second and advanced to third as the throw down by junior catcher Matt Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.) hit Crinella in the back and deflected into shallow right field. Freshman right fielder Cam DiSarcina was next and bounced an RBI groundout to shortstop to drive home the run.

Franklin Pierce took the lead for good with a five-spot in the bottom of the second inning to jump out front, 5-1. Walsh opened the inning with a ringing double down the left-field line before a walk to senior designated hitter Marty Dunlap (Dorchester, Mass.) put runners at first and second. Freshman left fielder Chris LaVorgna (North Haven, Conn.) bounced a ball back up the middle which Merrimack sophomore shortstop Mike Forgione dove and managed to get a glove on, but could not corral, as it went for an infield single. After sophomore first baseman Matt O'Herron (Springfield, Mass.) was hit by a pitch to force home the first run of the inning, freshman second baseman Kyle Hood (Arlington, Mass.) went the other way and sliced a two-run double down the line and into the right-field corner to score Dunlap and LaVorgna. Two batters later, Graves knocked a two-run single back up the middle to plate O'Herron and Hood.

Merrimack got a run back in the top of the third to cut the gap to 5-2. Forgione was the second batter of the inning and got a first-pitch fastball right down the middle from senior right-hander Joe Flynn (Plymouth, Mass.). Forgione turned on the pitch and deposited it beyond the fence in left-center for a solo home run of approximately 375 feet, his second of the season.

The Ravens got the run right back in the home half of the inning to push the lead to 6-2. Walsh dumped a one-out single into right-center, but was erased at second base when Dunlap bounced into a fielder's choice for the second out. LaVorgna followed and ripped a line drive straight at the right fielder, which DiSarcina initially broke in on, only to see the ball sail over his head for an RBI triple.

Merrimack picked up a pair of runs in the top of the fourth to close within two runs at 6-4. Sophomore designated hitter Sean O'Neill led off with a single through the left side of the infield and moved to second on a passed ball in front of a five-pitch walk to freshman left fielder Ryan Petrone. Junior catcher Dionys Quezada chopped a ball to third which left the Franklin Pierce infield with no play and loaded the bases. Senior second baseman Eddie Newton brought in the first run of the inning with an RBI groundout, while sophomore center fielder Bobby Losanno drove in the other with a sacrifice fly to right field.

The Ravens got one of the two runs back immediately in the home half of the fourth to make it 7-4. Leading off the inning, Graves dropped the barrel on a 1-0 fastball and clubbed his first career home run over the 365-foot marker in the gap in left-center, for an estimated 385-foot solo home run.

Franklin Pierce tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth to stretch the lead to 9-4. Freshman right-hander Perry Kulaga took over on the mound for Merrimack to start the inning and sophomore shortstop Justin Brock (Latham, N.Y.) greeted him rudely, by lining a second-pitch triple the other way into the gap in right-center. Brock scored when Graves was jammed, but fought off the pitch and dumped it into right field for a single to drive home his fourth run of the game. Graves stole second and freshman third baseman Jay Jabs (Schwenksville, Pa.) walked two batters later to put runners at first and second with one out. Walsh turned on the third pitch of his at-bat and pulled an RBI single into left field which scored Graves.

Crinella tripled leading off the ninth for Merrimack and later scored on a double-play ball to create the 9-5 final.

Flynn started the first game and threw the first four innings for Franklin Pierce. He allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits, walked two, hit a batter, struck out three and did not factor in the decision. Senior right-hander Ryan Leach (Farmingdale, Mass.) was strong over the next four-plus innings, as he worked into the ninth before exiting. In all, he allowed one run on just three hits, walked two, hit two batters and struck out seven while picking up the win (4-1).

Junior right-hander Joe Carnevale started and threw the first five innings for Merrimack. He was tagged for seven runs on seven hits, walked two, hit three batters and struck out four while taking the loss (2-3).

The wheels fell off for Franklin Pierce in the second game, as the pitching staff struggled with its control early and listless at-bats plagued the starting lineup. Junior right-hander Brendan O'Rourke (Shrewsbury, Mass.) started the second game for Franklin Pierce, but did not record an out before exiting, as Merrimack jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first and never looked back. O'Rourke faced just three batters: he hit Forgione with his first pitch of the day, walked Crinella on six pitches and threw three straight balls to DiSarcina before head coach Jayson King popped out of the dugout to go to the bullpen.

King turned the ball over to junior right-hander Paul Fahey (Dorchester, Mass.) in a first-inning jam. Fahey battled back to a full count against DiSarcina before walking him and then walked sophomore first baseman Matt Brown at the end of a nine-pitch battle to force in a run. O'Neill was next and clubbed a two-run double into the gap in left-center field to plate both Crinella and DiSarcina. Petrone capped the inning's scoring with a sacrifice fly to left field to score Brown.

O'Rourke was ultimately charged with three runs without allowing a hit, walked two and hit a batter while taking the loss (5-2).

After Fahey tossed a scoreless second, Merrimack added a run in the top of the third to push the lead to 5-0. O'Neill hit a sharp grounder back to the mound which deflected off Fahey's foot straight to Hood at second base, leading to a close play at first on the infield single. O'Neill moved to second as Petrone was hit by a pitch, which ended Fahey's day, as junior right-hander Doug Willey (Shelburne, N.H.) took over. A sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third, before junior catcher CJ Flannery drove in O'Neill with a sacrifice fly to right.

The Warriors plated four more runs against a trio of Franklin Pierce pitchers in the top of the fifth to break the game open and push the lead to 9-0. With Willey still on the mound, Newton knocked a one-out single to center and moved to second as Flannery followed with another single to center. The Ravens turned to sophomore right-hander Adam Fournier (Dartmouth, Mass.), who would be the second Franklin Pierce pitcher of the game to leave without retiring a batter.

Losanno was the first man Fournier faced, and the Merrimack center fielder went back up the middle for an RBI single to score Newton. Runners wound up at second and third on the play, as the throw to the plate sailed well over the cutoff man. The lineup flipped back to the top for Forgione, who chopped a ball over Fournier on the mound. Brock fielded on the run towards first base, spun and made a throw to the plate, which had little chance of retiring Flannery, as Forgione reached first with an RBI fielder's choice.

Franklin Pierce then turned the ball over to freshman right-hander Mike Lundin (Kingston, Mass.), who immediately surrendered an RBI single back through the middle to Crinella, which brought home Losanno. DiSarcina bounced a ball to second and reached on a fielder's choice, as Hood came home to retire Forgione at the plate. After a wild pitch moved the runners to second and third, Brown capped the inning's scoring with an RBI infield single to score Crinella.

Merrimack plated three more runs in the top of the sixth to push the lead as high as 12-0. Crinella had the big blow of the inning with a two-run double into the gap in right-center, while Losanno put an RBI single through the right side of the infield.

Meanwhile, the Franklin Pierce lineup was busy going quietly against Merrimack senior left-hander Conner McMahon. After the first six Ravens to come to the plate were all retired, O'Herron hit a ball towards the hole in the left side of the infield which Crinella made a diving attempt at. Crinella got his glove to the ball, but could not snare it, as O'Herron reached with an infield single. Hood made it back-to-back infield singles with a chopper up the third-base line, as McMahon fielded and made a desperation heave to force a bang-bang play at first, but Hood was ruled safe.

With runners at first and second and no outs in what was only a 5-0 game at the time, Brock fouled off three pitches before ultimately striking out on the eighth pitch of his at-bat. The lineup went back to the top, but Graves and Razzino struck out on a combined eight pitches to end the threat.

Over the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, nine Ravens went in order on 41 pitches from McMahon, including four strikeouts, three of which were swinging, as Franklin Pierce made a habit of chasing pitches out of the zone through the middle innings. By the end of the bottom of the sixth, King had seen enough. As the Ravens took the field for the top of the seventh, he removed all nine members of his starting lineup and turned the game over to his bench.

The bench seemed to have little trouble solving McMahon, as three of the first four batters in the bottom of the seventh inning reached on hits and chased McMahon from the game after 98 pitches. With one out, junior catcher Rob Chooljian (Hampton, N.H.) went back up the middle for a single and freshman designated hitter Adam Routhier (Goffstown, N.H.) pinch-hit for Dunlap and went the other way for a double down the right-field line. Sophomore left fielder Max DiTondo (Marshfield, Mass.) was next and got the Ravens on the board by dumping a two-run single into left-center to cut the gap to 12-2 and chase McMahon from the game in favor of junior right-hander Colin Smith. Smith allowed a double and hit a batter in the inning, but also notched a pair of strikeouts to strand the bases loaded.

McMahon went 6.1 innings on the mound for Merrimack and had allowed only two baserunners through the first five innings. He was ultimately charged with two runs on five hits, did not issue a walk and struck out seven to pick up the win (5-0).

Franklin Pierce picked up two more runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to create the 12-4 final. Routhier was hit by a pitch leading off and moved to third two batters later on a double into the gap in left-center by junior first baseman Bryan Dionicio (West Hartford, Conn.). Freshman second baseman Tyler Glavin (Bridgewater, Conn.) brought home Routhier with an RBI single to left field and sophomore shortstop Kurtis White (Nahant, Mass.) scored Dionicio with an RBI groundout to first base.

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).