Pitching records ninth shutout of season vs. Chargers

CARY, N.C. (March 17, 2015) – Sophomore third baseman Jay Jabs (Schwenksville, Pa.) cracked a pair of solo home runs on Tuesday as part of a 20-hit attack, as the No. 4/7 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team rolled up a 12-0 win over Dominican (N.Y.) in non-conference, neutral site play at the USA Baseball National Training Complex. Later in the day, the Ravens' winning streak finally came to an end at 16 games, with a 6-5 loss at the hands of No. 14 Mount Olive.

With the split, Franklin Pierce now stands at 16-1 (0-0 Northeast-10). Meanwhile, Dominican falls to 1-4 (0-0 Central Atlantic) and Mount Olive improves to 19-6 (9-2 Conference Carolinas). For Franklin Pierce, the 16-game winning streak was four games longer than any previous winning streak in program history. Furthermore, 16 straight wins to open a season bettered the team's previous high-water mark by seven games.

Against Dominican, Franklin Pierce got the only four runs it would need in the top of the third inning. Junior left fielder Kurtis White (Nahant, Mass.) led off with a single, stole second, moved to third on a balk and scored on an RBI groundout by junior center fielder Maxx Sheehan (San Jose, Calif.). The bases now empty and one away, Jabs came to the plate and cracked his first home run of the game and his third of the season. After back-to-back singles by senior right fielder John Razzino (Cranston, R.I.) and senior catcher Matt Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.), junior first baseman Matt O'Herron (Springfield, Mass.) ultimately drove in both with a two-run single.

The Ravens tacked on two more runs in the top of the fourth to grow the lead to 6-0. Sophomore designated hitter Chris LaVorgna (North Haven, Conn.) led off with a double and moved to third when sophomore second baseman Kyle Hood (Arlington, Mass.) followed with a single. After a tapper in front of the plate allowed Hood to move to second while White was retired, Brock hit a comebacker to the mound and reached on a fielder's choice, which saw LaVorgna erased at the plate, while Hood moved to third. After Brock stole second, Sheehan cashed in both runners with a two-run single.

Three runs in the fifth and another in the sixth pushed the lead to 10-0. In the fifth, Walsh hit a two-run single and Hood drove in a run with an RBI single as well. In the sixth, Jabs hit his second home run of the day, a one-out solo shot, his fourth of the season.

The Ravens reserves added single runs in the eighth and ninth to create the 12-0 final. In the eighth, freshman John Friday (Southborough, Mass.) tripled leading off and scored on an RBI groundout by junior Max DiTondo (Marshfield, Mass.). In the ninth, sophomore Anthony DeDona (Bethpage, N.Y.) tripled and later scored on an RBI groundout by freshman Bobby Schryver (Ansonia, Conn.).

Freshman right-hander Anthony Matarazzo (Medford, Mass.) started and threw the first two innings for Franklin Pierce, just two days after throwing four innings in a start against Dowling on Sunday. On Tuesday, Matarazzo did not allow a run, surrendered one hit, did not issue a walk, struck out two and did not factor in the decision. Junior right-hander Tanner Bird (Adams, Mass.) took over to start the third and fired five shutout innings to pick up the win (1-0) out of the bullpen. He allowed six hits, also did not issue a walk and struck out five.

Freshman right-hander James Traunton took the ball and threw the first four innings for Dominican. He was touched up for eight runs on 11 hits, did not issue a walk and struck out one while taking the loss (0-1).

Against Mount Olive, Franklin Pierce surrendered two runs in the top of the first inning, as the Trojans -- who are averaging 9.16 runs per game, eighth in the nation -- jumped out to a 2-0 lead. With one out, junior third baseman Joe Koehler cranked a double into the gap in right-center field. After junior center fielder Jason Morozowski was hit by a pitch, Koehler moved to third as senior catcher Justin Manning bounced into a fielder's choice which saw Morozowski erased at second base. From there, back-to-back RBI singles on the right side of the diamond by senior first baseman Kilgore Gailmard and junior designated hitter Chris Leduc staked Mount Olive to the 2-0 lead.

Franklin Pierce responded with a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the third inning to tie the game at 2-2. Hood reached on an error by Koehler at third leading off the inning and moved to second as White followed with a walk. After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners up, a wild pitch scored Hood and moved White over to third. Sheehan cashed in White from there with a sacrifice fly.

The Ravens struck for a 4-2 lead with two more runs in the bottom of the fourth. Walsh started things with a one-out infield single to third base and moved to second as O'Herron followed with a walk. O'Herron went first-to-third as LaVorgna followed with an RBI single inside the right-field line to score Walsh, and Hood then followed with an RBI groundout to bring home O'Herron.

This time, Mount Olive was able to tie the game, at 4-4, with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth. Senior shortstop DeAndre Allen led off with a double the other way into the gap in right-center, but was only able to advance to third when junior second baseman Zak Orrison followed with a double of his own down the right-field line. Two batters later, Morozowski converted both baserunners with a two-run single to left.

Franklin Pierce reclaimed the lead at 5-4 with an unearned run in the bottom half of the fifth. Razzino started things with a two-out, infield single, stole second and later came around to score as O'Herron reached on an error by Allen at shortstop.

The Trojans rallied for the lead, and ultimately the win, with two runs in the top of the eighth inning. Koehler worked a nine-pitch walk to open the inning, and that spelled the end of the day for Franklin Pierce junior right-hander Paul Covelle (Medford, Mass.). Senior right-hander Paul Fahey (Dorchester, Mass.) took over and promptly hit the first man he faced, Morozowski. After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners up, a wild pitch scored Koehler to tie the game and moved Morozowski to third carrying the go-ahead run. Following an intentional walk to set up the potential double play, sophomore Bradley Ragan worked the count to 2-2 and knocked a pinch-hit, RBI single to right field to plate Morozowski.

Franklin Pierce got the tying run into scoring position in the last of the ninth, as Jabs yanked a two-out double down the right-field line, but Razzino grounded out to third on the third pitch of his at-bat to end the game.

Covelle threw 101 pitches (65 strikes) over seven-plus innings and did not factor in the decision on the hill for Franklin Pierce. He allowed five runs on seven hits, walked three, hit a batter and struck out seven. Fahey recorded the final six outs, allowed one run on two hits, walked one (intentionally), hit another and struck out two while suffering the loss (3-1) in relief.

On the other side, senior right-hander Jordy Farthing fired 111 pitches (74 strikes) over seven innings toeing the rubber for Mount Olive. He allowed five runs (two earned) on four hits, walked three, hit four batters, struck out four and picked up the win (2-1). Junior right-hander Jose Serrano allowed the Jabs double in the ninth, but retired the other six men he faced, including one strikeout, to notch his first save of the season.

The Ravens return to the field on Wednesday, March 18, when they wrap up their seven-game trip to North Carolina by traveling to Mount Olive for a non-conference contest. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Scarborough Field in Mount Olive, N.C.

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).