O'Rourke fans eight in six innings

WALTHAM, Mass. (May 1, 2015) – Junior center fielder Maxx Sheehan (San Jose, Calif.) went 3-for-4 with a walk and scored three runs on Friday afternoon, as the No. 1/3 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team hammered out 18 more hits en route to a 12-0 whitewashing of Bentley to open a three-game Northeast-10 Conference, Northeast Division weekend series at DeFelice Field. Senior right-hander Brendan O'Rourke (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and junior right-hander Miles Sheehan (Madison, Conn.) combined to strike out 11 in the Ravens' 13th shutout of the season.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 40-2 (22-1 Northeast-10, 18-1 Northeast Division) and has won 21 in a row, extending the team's program-record winning streak. With the loss, Bentley falls to 9-21 (7-11 Northeast-10, 7-11 Northeast Division). The two teams will play twice more on Saturday, in a doubleheader starting at noon at DeFelice Field. The twinbill will cap Franklin Pierce's regular season.

The win also allowed Franklin Pierce to clinch outright the Northeast Division title. The Ravens have now won a division title in each of the four seasons since the Northeast-10 returned to divisional play in 2012. The Ravens split the crown with Saint Anselm in 2012 and shared it with Southern New Hampshire a year ago, while capturing an outright title in between in 2013.

Franklin Pierce has now won 40 games for the sixth time in program history (2011, 2010, 2008, 2007, 2006). The team is within striking distance of the program record of 49 wins, set in 2007 (49-11).

The Ravens got the only runs they would need on Friday afternoon in the top of the first inning, when they scored four times to jump to a 4-0 lead. Maxx Sheehan reached on an infield single to open the game, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored when senior catcher Matt Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.) lashed a two-out RBI single into right field. Walsh moved around to third on a double to right field by junior first baseman Matt O'Herron (Springfield, Mass.) and scored on an RBI single to right by sophomore designated hitter Chris LaVorgna (North Haven, Conn.). On the play, senior right fielder Tom Nagy misplayed the ball, which allowed O'Herron to score as well, while LaVorgna advanced to second. LaVorgna then stole third, and scored on the play as well, as the throw to third by junior catcher Bryan Rocha sailed down the left-field line.

Bentley senior right-hander Connor Root settled in from there and held Franklin Pierce at bay through the next five innings. His only trouble through the middle frames caused no further damage, as he stranded a runner at second in both the fifth and sixth innings.

The Ravens then bookended Root's day with big innings, as they broke the game wide open with five more runs in the top of the seventh to expand the lead to 9-0. Maxx Sheehan led off the inning with an infield hit again, and wound up on second on the play, as sophomore second baseman Carl Farnham threw the ball away. Sophomore third baseman Jay Jabs (Schwenksville, Pa.) drew a walk as Maxx Sheehan stole third, to put runners at the corners with nobody out. Senior right fielder John Razzino (Cranston, R.I.) cashed in Maxx Sheehan with an RBI single to center field and then Walsh worked a walk to load the bases. O'Herron hit the ball on a line to right, but it hung up in the air long enough for the right fielder to make the catch, which left O'Herron with a sacrifice fly, as Jabs tagged and scored. Razzino tagged and moved to third on the O'Herron flyout, which allowed him to score easily when LaVorgna followed with a single into right field. Walsh went first-to-third on the LaVorgna single -- while LaVorgna took second on the throw to third -- and sophomore second baseman Kyle Hood (Arlington, Mass.) followed with the second sacrifice fly of the inning, this one to right as well, to score Walsh. LaVorgna moved to third on the Hood fly ball and later scored on a passed ball.

Franklin Pierce tacked on a run in the top of the eighth and two in the ninth to create the 12-0 final. In the eighth, Maxx Sheehan singled to left and later scored when freshman catcher Christopher Stanford (Quebec City, Quebec) bounced into a pinch-hit, RBI fielder's choice. In the ninth, freshman Stephen Octave (New Windsor, N.Y.) singled back up the middle and eventually scored on an RBI, pinch-hit, infield single by senior Mike Skilton (Bedford, N.H.), while freshman Bobby Schryver (Ansonia, Conn.) worked a pinch-hit walk and later scored while freshman Daren Grabowski (Berlin, Conn.) reached on an error as a pinch hitter.

Meanwhile, O'Rourke cruised through six shutout innings, as he allowed just three runners to reach scoring position during his outing. He threw 87 pitches (55 strikes), allowed four hits, walked two and struck out eight to pick up the win (10-0). Miles Sheehan, who missed his starts each of the last two weeks, got back on the mound by throwing 40 pitches (31 strikes) over three shutout innings. He allowed three hits, walked one, struck out three and picked up the three-inning save, his first of the season.

Meanwhile, Root was allowed to throw 128 pitches (85 strikes) over seven innings, including being allowed to stay in and finish the inning after the first four men reached to start the seventh. Ultimately, Root was charged with nine runs on 13 hits, walked three and struck out five while taking the loss (3-2).

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).