O'Rourke fires eight strong innings in relief

MANCHESTER, N.H. (May 15, 2014) – A solo home run by senior first baseman JC Brandmaier in the second and a two-run shot by junior catcher Daniel Parisi in the third were enough to put away the No. 28 nationally ranked and second-seeded Franklin Pierce University baseball team, which dropped a 3-0 decision to fifth-seeded Dowling on Thursday at the first day of the NCAA Championship East Regional, hosted by Southern New Hampshire at Penmen Field. Senior right-hander Tyler Badamo went the distance and authored a five-hit shutout for Dowling.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 35-17 and will play an elimination game at 10 a.m. Friday against sixth-seeded Felician, which fell to top seed and host SNHU, 9-3, in Thursday's first game. With the win, Dowling improves to 34-15 and will play at 4 p.m. Friday against the winner of Thursday's final game, which features third-seeded Wilmington (Del.) and fourth-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas. Franklin Pierce won three straight games while facing elimination a year ago en route to the regional title, and will now need five consecutive wins over the next three days to defend its crown.

Junior right-hander Conor Gleason (North Stonington, Conn.) started on the mound for Franklin Pierce and worked into and out of trouble in the top of the first inning. He issued a five-pitch walk to junior right fielder Adam Schuster leading off, before senior second baseman Andrew Abreu put a third-pitch single through the right side of the infield to put runners at first and second with nobody out. Gleason fell behind sophomore shortstop RJ Going, 2-0, but then got the Dowling three-hole hitter to hit a groundball on the left side which the infield turned into a 6-4-3 double play. With Schuster at third, but now two away, Gleason struck out Parisi swinging on a full-count pitch to end the threat.

Gleason got into more trouble in the top of the second, when Dowling plated the only run Badamo would need on the afternoon. Gleason fell behind Brandmaier, 2-0, and was forced to throw the power-hitting first baseman something he could hit leading off the inning. Brandmaier turned on the 2-0 pitch and clubbed a long, solo home run, his third of the season, to straightaway left field to open the scoring.

After the home run, Gleason walked junior center fielder Jonathan Cruz on five pitches and followed it with a four-pitch walk to senior left fielder Rob Veltre to put runners at first and second with nobody out. The walk spelled the end of Gleason's day, as he departed after just one inning and three batters. He allowed one run on two hits, walked three, struck out one and would ultimately suffer the loss (5-3).

Junior right-hander Brendan O'Rourke (Shrewsbury, Mass.) took over and was able to work out of the jam with some help from his defense. With the runner on second in motion, sophomore designated hitter Michael Rizzitello lofted a fly ball to shallow left field. Sophomore shortstop Justin Brock (Latham, N.Y.) was able to range back and make the catch. Cruz was left in no man's land on the play and Brock got the ball to second in time to complete the double play. After a two-out single, Dowling ran into an out on the bases to end the threat with no further damage.

O'Rourke surrendered the only runs he allowed over eight strong innings of relief in the top of the third, when Dowling created the 3-0 final. Schuster worked a full count, eventually took a lead-off walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. After Going struck out, O'Rourke appeared on the verge of working out of trouble again, but he fell behind Parisi, 3-1. O'Rourke challenged the hitter with a fastball, but Parisi was waiting for it, turned on it and cranked his second home run of the campaign, a two-run shot, down the left-field line.

Otherwise, O'Rourke was mostly spotless the rest of the afternoon. He threw 107 pitches (63 strikes) over eight innings of work, allowed two runs on three hits, walked three and struck out six.

Meanwhile, Badamo mostly worked through the Franklin Pierce lineup without incident, as he fired 114 pitches (84 strikes) on his way to a five-hit shutout. Badamo did not issue a walk, struck out eight and faced just 31 batters on the way to the win (9-3).

Franklin Pierce left four runners in scoring pitching on the afternoon, but managed to get a runner to third just once against Badamo. In the bottom of the second, sophomore first baseman Matt O'Herron (Springfield, Mass.) turned on a 1-2 pitch with one out and scalded a ball towards third base. Dowling junior third baseman Vinny Orlando was eaten up by the ball on one hop, but had barely had time to react to the smash, which was ruled a double for O'Herron. O'Herron moved to third on a groundout, but was left there as freshman second baseman Kyle Hood (Arlington, Mass.) bounced out to second to end the inning.

The best chance to get back in the game for the Ravens came in the bottom of the seventh, which was the team's only inning with multiple baserunners on the afternoon. With one out, senior designated hitter Marty Dunlap (Dorchester, Mass.) pulled a single inside the bag at third and moved to second when O'Herron followed with a single through the right side. The rally was short-circuited however, as freshman third baseman Jay Jabs (Schwenksville, Pa.) bounced into an inning ending double play. O'Herron would be the final baserunner of the day for Franklin Pierce, which went in order in both the eighth and ninth innings against Badamo.

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).