Graves adds 2-for-4 night

RINDGE, N.H. (April 29, 2014) – For his second straight outing against one of the top teams in the East Region, junior right-hander Conor Gleason (North Stonington, Conn.) threw over seven innings of one-hit ball, as he struck out 13 over eight one-hit innings on Tuesday night to lead the No. 25 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team to a 4-1 victory over No. 20 Southern New Hampshire in Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division action at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field. Junior right fielder John Razzino (Cranston, R.I.) had a pair of RBI singles in the win for Franklin Pierce.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 33-14 (18-6 Northeast-10, 13-5 Northeast Division) and usurps first place in the Northeast Division from Southern New Hampshire, which falls to 32-12 (19-7 Northeast-10, 14-6 Northeast Division). The win was the eighth in a row for the Ravens.

Franklin Pierce still holds control of its fate in the Northeast Division as it battles SNHU and Bentley for the division title in the final week of the regular season. The Ravens travel to Saint Michael's for a noon doubleheader on Thursday and return home for the regular season finale on Sunday against Bentley at 11:30 a.m. With three wins, Franklin Pierce would claim its third consecutive Northeast Division crown. Bentley dropped a 4-3 affair at Stonehill on Tuesday, falling on a game-ending wild pitch in the bottom of the 11th inning.

Gleason, who took a no-hit bid into the eighth and struck out 11 over 7.2 one-hit innings in a tough-luck loss at SNHU on April 16, was possibly even less hittable on a blustery Tuesday night in Rindge. Over eight innings of work, he allowed just one run on one hit, walked six, struck out 13 and threw three wild pitches on the way to the win (5-1). Gleason needed 130 pitches (76 strikes) to get through the eight innings. The only SNHU batters he did not record a strikeout against were junior second baseman Michael Mastroberti and junior first baseman Alejandro Diaz. Freshman shortstop Manny Cruz and senior first baseman Riley Palmer struck out thrice each, while junior designated hitter Bryan Toland struck out in both of his plate appearances, before being lifted for a pinch hitter, who struck out as well.

As was the case two weeks ago at Penmen Field, Gleason matched up with another of the Northeast-10's top pitchers, as senior right-hander Derrick Sylvester toed the rubber for SNHU. Sylvester went the distance, needed just 110 pitches (75 strikes) in the complete-game loss (7-2) and rolled up 13 groundball outs, but was not quite as sharp as he was two weeks ago, particularly in the early going. In all, Sylvester was charged with four runs on seven hits over eight innings, walked one, hit two batters, threw a wild pitch and struck out six.

The Franklin Pierce offense got Gleason the only runs he would need when it came up with two runs on three hits in the bottom of the first, before Sylvester could get settled in on the Pappas Field mound. Senior center fielder Calvin Graves (Boston, Mass.) took Sylvester's third pitch of the night and turned it around for a sharp ground ball back up the middle. The ball ricocheted off Sylvester's foot on one hop and bounced out to Cruz at shortstop. Graves' speed earned him an infield single on the play, but Cruz threw the ball away as well, which allowed the lead-off hitter to move up to second base. Two batters later, Razzino pulled an RBI single over the head of Cruz and into left-center field to drive in the game's first run.

Razzino, who ranks third in the country in stolen bases, stole second for his 44th theft of the season and then moved to third as junior catcher Matt Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.) reached with an infield single on a slow chopper on the left side, which Cruz elected not to make a throw on. Senior designated hitter Marty Dunlap (Dorchester, Mass.) followed with a soft groundball over the mound, which could have been an inning-ending double play, though it would have required a quick turn. Perhaps rushing on the play, Cruz failed to field the ball cleanly at the bag, though he recovered in time to force Walsh out at second, while Dunlap reached with an RBI fielder's choice as Razzino came in to score.

The Ravens added a run in the bottom of the third to push the lead to 3-0. Sophomore shortstop Justin Brock (Latham, N.Y.) fought off an 0-2 pitch and hit a slow roller up the third-base line. Palmer fielded and threw cleanly while charging in on the play, but Brock legged out the infield single. With Brock in motion, Graves bounced out on the left side of the infield while Brock moved to second. Two batters later, Razzino picked up a two-out RBI single by going the other way and putting the ball through the right side of the infield.

SNHU capitalized on its only hit against Gleason and a momentary lapse of control in the top of the fifth to plate its only run of the night. Leading off, Diaz got a 1-2 slider which hung in the middle of the plate and went the other way with it for a single through the right side of the infield. Junior catcher Tyler Fortanascio followed with a six-pitch walk to move Diaz to second, before Toland struck out on five pitches. Another walk, this one of the five-pitch variety, to senior right fielder Anthony Aceto loaded the bases with just one out, before Gleason uncorked a wild pitch which allowed Diaz to score.

Gleason was able to bear down and escape the inning without any further damage. On a 2-0 pitch, senior center fielder Brendan O'Brien chopped a ball to sophomore first baseman Matt O'Herron (Springfield, Mass.), who fielded cleanly. Fortanascio broke for the plate and O'Herron double-clutched on the throw but, with the catcher running, still had time to retire the lead runner at the plate as O'Brien reached on the fielder's choice. Gleason then recorded his eighth strikeout of the night, as he froze Cruz on the fourth pitch for a called strike three to end the inning.

Franklin Pierce added an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh to create the 4-1 final. With one out, freshman third baseman Jay Jabs (Schwenksville, Pa.) hit a first-pitch ground ball back up the middle. Mastroberti made a diving stop on the ball behind the bag at second, but did not have time to make a throw, as Jabs reached on the infield single. Two batters later, Jabs moved to second on a wild pitch and eventually scored on a two-out, RBI, line-drive single through the hole in the right side of the infield by Graves.

Junior right-hander Doug Willey (Shelburne, N.H.) took over for Gleason to start the ninth and allowed SNHU's second, and final, hit of the night, a second-pitch, lead-off single to right by senior left fielder Al Stanton. Willey then struck out Diaz on six pitches, fanned Fortanascio on three pitches and got junior pinch hitter Kyle McGinnity to fly out to Graves in center to nail down his Northeast-10-leading 13th save of the season.

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