Razzino scores three runs

MANCHESTER, N.H. (April 23, 2014) – Junior catcher Matt Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.) went 3-for-5 for the third straight game, hit a double, scored twice and drove in two runs on Wednesday afternoon to lead a 12-hit attack as the No. 28 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team picked up a 10-6 win on the road at Saint Anselm in Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division play at Sullivan Park. Junior first baseman Joe Morin went 2-for-4 with an RBI double and scored twice in defeat for Saint Anselm.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 28-14 (15-6 Northeast-10, 10-5 Northeast Division), while Saint Anselm falls to 12-28 (6-16 Northeast-10, 4-12 Northeast Division). The win also gave Franklin Pierce a 2-1 edge in the three-game season series between the two clubs. The Ravens now sit two games behind division-leading Bentley, but three games in the loss column, with six division games remaining, including this weekend's three-game series with the first-place Falcons.

Franklin Pierce opened the scoring with a run in the top of the second inning. Walsh led off, turned on a 1-1 pitch and laced a double over the head of the third baseman and down the left-field line. Walsh moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a sacrifice fly to shallow left field by sophomore first baseman Matt O'Herron (Springfield, Mass.).

The Ravens added three in the top of the third to push the lead to 4-0. Freshman second baseman Kyle Hood (Arlington, Mass.) opened the inning with a single back up the middle and moved to second when sophomore shortstop Justin Brock (Latham, N.Y.) followed with a bunt single before a wild pitch moved the runners to second and third with no outs. After back-to-back strikeouts put sophomore let-hander Tom Hudon on the verge of working out of the jam, junior right fielder John Razzino (Cranston, R.I.) dropped a bunt single down the third-base line, which also served as a safety squeeze as Hood came in to score on the play. Walsh followed with a slow roller on the left side which forced freshman shortstop Nick Bragole to attempt a barehanded play to try to get the final out of the inning. Bragole came up empty however, as Walsh reached with an RBI single to drive in Brock, while Razzino came around to score on the error.

Four more runs for Franklin Pierce in the top of the fifth broke the game open and stretched the lead to 8-0. With one out, Razzino took a five-pitch walk and then stole both second and third before scoring on Walsh's second RBI infield single of the afternoon. Walsh moved to second on a single through the left side by senior designated hitter Marty Dunlap (Dorchester, Mass.) and scored on an RBI double into the gap in right-center by O'Herron, which also pushed Dunlap around to third. Dunlap scored on a sacrifice fly to right field by freshman third baseman Jay Jabs (Schwenksville, Pa.). O'Herron tagged as well, and the throw came to third in an attempt to nab him, but senior second baseman Kyle Grumoli threw the relay away, which allowed O'Herron to score on the play as well.

Another unearned run in the top of the sixth pushed the lead as high as 9-0. Brock led off, reached on an error by freshman third baseman Frank D'Amato and moved to third as back-to-back singles by senior center fielder Calvin Graves (Boston, Mass.) and freshman left fielder Chris LaVorgna (North Haven, Conn.) loaded the bases with no outs. The Ravens settled for one run in the inning, as Razzino drove home Brock with a sacrifice fly to left field.

Meanwhile, junior right-hander Conor Gleason (North Stonington, Conn.) allowed just three baserunners over his six shutout innings on the mound. He issued a two-out walk to senior right fielder Dan Lagasse in the first, but then picked him off of first base. He allowed a single to Bragole and walked sophomore catcher Allan McQuarrie with one out in the third, but worked around the momentary trouble without further incident. Gleason retired each of the other 17 batters he faced, including his final 11 batters of the day. In all, Gleason allowed one hit, walked two, threw a wild pitch and struck out nine on the way to the win (4-1).

Hudon tossed the first five innings on the hill for Saint Anselm. He was touched for eight runs (seven earned) on nine hits, walked two, threw a wild pitch, struck out four, threw 92 pitches and took the loss (3-4).

With the nine-run lead, Franklin Pierce opted to get Gleason, who had topped 130 pitches in each of his last two starts, out of the game after just 89 pitches and turned things over to the bullpen for the final three innings. Saint Anselm got on the board with two runs against freshman right-hander Josh Martin (Lewiston, Maine) in the bottom of the seventh. Lagasse opened the frame with a double into the gap in left-center and scored when Morin followed with an RBI double down the left-field line. Morin moved to third on a groundout and scored on an RBI groundout by junior pinch hitter Bobby Carkhuff.

Franklin Pierce picked up one more unearned run in the top of the eighth to cap its scoring on the day. With two outs, Razzino reached at second on a throwing error by Bragole at shortstop. He then stole third and scored on the play as sophomore catcher Thomas Murphy threw the ball away.

Things got dicey for the Franklin Pierce bullpen in the bottom of the ninth, as what had been a blowout necessitated the use of the team's closer to finish things off. Freshman left-hander Matt Wojciak (Merrimack, N.H.) came on to start the ninth, walked freshman second baseman Matt Flynn, hit Lagasse and allowed a single through the left side by Morin to load the bases. He then hit senior designated hitter Matt Wojichowski to force in a run and threw a pair of wild pitches to score two runs and move Wojichowski around to third, before getting the inning's first out on an RBI groundout by Carkhuff.

The groundout was the end of the line for Wojciak, who was replaced by junior right-hander Paul Fahey (Dorchester, Mass.), who took over with the bases full and one out. Fahey got freshman third baseman Jon McQuarrie to bounce to third for the second out, but then hit Bragole and issued back-to-back walks to Murphy and sophomore center fielder Ken Morrisino to load the bases and bring the tying run to the plate.

Taking no chances with the game suddenly on the line, head coach Jayson King turned to junior right-hander Doug Willey (Shelburne, N.H.) to face Flynn with the bases loaded. Willey poured in two pitches on the outer half to put Flynn in an 0-2 hole before going up the ladder to get a swinging third strike and nail down his 10th save of the season on just three pitches.

The Ravens return to the field on Thursday, April 24, when they return home to host Felician in a non-conference doubleheader. First pitch is set for 4:30 p.m. at Pappas Field in Rindge.

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).