Ravens plate five in the sixth to rally for the win

WEST HAVEN, Conn. (May 7, 2015) – Senior right-hander Paul Fahey (Dorchester, Mass.) stopped the early bleeding with 4.2 shutout innings on Thursday afternoon at Frank Vieira Field, and senior catcher Matt Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.) unloaded on a sixth-inning grand slam, as the No. 1/3 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team erased a 2-0 deficit with six unanswered runs to post a 6-2 win over host New Haven on the first day of the Northeast-10 Championship. Junior catcher TJ Riccio and sophomore second baseman Nick Russo drove in a run each with RBI doubles in the loss for New Haven.

With the win, Franklin Pierce -- the Northeast Division's top seed -- improves to 44-2 and has won 25 in a row, extending the team's program-record winning streak. With the loss, New Haven -- the third seed out of the Southwest Division -- falls to 17-15.

Franklin Pierce will take on Northeast Division third seed Stonehill (32-11-1) in the winner's bracket game on Friday at 12:30 p.m. Prior to the Ravens and Skyhawks, New Haven and the Southwest Division's fourth seed, Adelphi, will square off in an elimination game starting at 10 a.m. Franklin Pierce swept Stonehill in a three-game series in Rindge on April 2 and 4, while New Haven went 4-1 against Adelphi during the regular season, including 2-1 in the divisional contests between the two.

The early story of the game on Thursday was New Haven sophomore left-hander Vincent Aprea, who retired the first 11 batters he faced and did not surrender a hit until the fifth inning. Meanwhile, his offense got him a 2-0 lead with a run each in the second and fourth innings. In the second, senior left fielder Kyle Cullen took a five-pitch walk leading off and then came all the way around to score when Russo took the first pitch down the left-field line for an RBI double. In the fourth, sophomore designated hitter Robert Petrillo singled through the right side leading off, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on an RBI double to left by Riccio.

The Riccio double spelled the end of the day for the Franklin Pierce starter, senior right-hander Brendan O'Rourke (Shrewsbury, Mass.), who departed after 3.1 innings and 58 pitches (35 strikes). He was charged with two runs on four hits, walked three and struck out two. Ultimately, O'Rourke would not factor in the decision, as the Ravens later got him off the hook.

Fahey took over from there, needed just seven pitches to record the final two outs of the fourth, and held the Chargers at bay over the next 4.2 innings. His outing was not without speed bumps, but did pass without much serious trouble. Fahey stranded an inherited runner at second in the fourth, and then stranded a runner at second in each of the four full innings he worked as well. He threw 64 pitches (38 strikes) and did not allow a run in his time on the hill. Fahey surrendered three hits, walked two, hit a batter, struck out two and eventually picked up the win (6-2) in relief as the Ravens got him the lead in the sixth.

Franklin Pierce began its comeback with a run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Sophomore designated hitter Chris LaVorgna (North Haven, Conn.) coaxed a six-pitch walk to start the inning and went first-to-third on a single through the left side by junior left fielder Kurtis White (Nahant, Mass.). A potential big inning was short-circuited, but the Ravens did get on the board, as LaVorgna scored while freshman first baseman John Friday (Southborough, Mass.) bounced into a 4-6-3 double play.

The Ravens finally got to Aprea in the bottom of the sixth inning, as all nine men came to the plate and the first six batters of the inning all reached base to kick-start a five-run frame. The inning started at the bottom of the order with junior shortstop Justin Brock (Latham, N.Y.), who took the first pitch of the inning the other way for a double into the gap in right-center, and then took third on a wild pitch and scored on a passed ball to tie the game at 2-2. The lineup flipped back to the top and a pair of solid at-bats from junior center fielder Maxx Sheehan (San Jose, Calif.) and sophomore third baseman Jay Jabs (Schwenksville, Pa.) ended with each reaching base. Sheehan worked a seven-pitch walk, while Jabs ran the count full and was eventually hit by the seventh pitch of his plate appearance. A single by senior right fielder John Razzino (Cranston, R.I.) then loaded the bases for Walsh in the clean-up spot. Clean up he did, as he hammered the first pitch he saw to left field for a mammoth grand slam, his fourth home run of the season.

The titanic blast from Walsh would stand as the final run-scoring salvo of the afternoon for either side. Staked to a four-run lead, Fahey stranded a leadoff single at second in the seventh and worked around a leadoff single and one-out walk to strand two in the eighth, which kept the game at 6-2 heading for the ninth. Fellow senior right-hander Travis Landry (Loudon, N.H.) took over for the top of the ninth and dispatched the side in order on 14 pitches (nine strikes) to finish off the victory.

For New Haven, Aprea had been nearly unhittable through five innings, but was ultimately forced to throw 85 pitches (51 strikes) over six innings. He was charged with six runs on five hits, walked two, hit a batter, threw a wild pitch and struck out five while taking the loss (4-4).

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).