White tallies first career home run

LYNDHURST, N.J. (March 11, 2016) – Junior designated hitter Chris LaVorgna (North Haven, Conn.) went 5-for-7, senior second baseman Kurtis White (Nahant, Mass.) hit 4-for-6, and each scored three times and drove in five runs on Friday afternoon, as the No. 3/3 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team swept a non-conference doubleheader from Felician at Lyndhurst Recreation Complex. The Ravens pounded out 29 hits to score 25 runs while winning the games by 15-3 and 10-3 scores.

With the wins, Franklin Pierce improves to 11-0, while Felician falls to 4-12. It marks the second straight season Franklin Pierce has opened the season with at least 10 straight wins, as it opened the 2015 campaign with a program-record 16-game winning streak. The two teams will meet again on Saturday, for another doubleheader at the Lyndhurst Recreation Complex, beginning at 2 p.m.

In the first game, Felician opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the first inning. Junior left fielder Ronnie Grant led off with a single to center field, stole second and moved to third on a single through the left side of the infield by sophomore third baseman Bruce Strickland. The Golden Falcons opted to put on the first-and-third double-steal play, despite there being no outs in the inning as of yet. Sophomore catcher Christopher Stanford (Quebec City, Quebec) threw through to retire Strickland at second, though Grant was able to score the game's first run on the play.

Franklin Pierce responded immediately with two runs in the top of the second to jump to a 2-1 lead. Senior right fielder Max DiTondo (Marshfield, Mass.) led off with a single to center, moved to second on a wild pitch, went to third on a single through the left side by LaVorgna and scored on another wild pitch, which also moved LaVorgna to second. LaVorgna took third on a flyout to right by Stanford and then scored on the third wild pitch of the inning by Felician junior left-hander Drue Brooks.

The Ravens pushed the lead to 3-1 with a run in the top of the third. Graduate student left fielder Matt Burns (Parkland, Fla.) singled to right with one out, stole second, moved to third on a passed ball and scored when LaVorgna lifted a sacrifice fly to center field.

Felician answered with two runs in the home half of the third to tie the game at 3-3. Grant started things again, this time with a one-out double to right, and scored when Strickland followed with an RBI triple into the gap in left-center field. Strickland would then score as sophomore center fielder Matt Diesel followed with an RBI infield single on the left side.

Franklin Pierce reclaimed the lead, for good this time, with an unearned run in the top of the fourth. With two outs, senior center fielder Maxx Sheehan (San Jose, Calif.) reached on an errant throw by Strickland at third, stole second and came around to score on an RBI single back through the middle by Burns.

The Ravens broke things wide open by sending 11 men to the plate and scoring seven runs on six hits in the top of the fifth, to balloon the lead to 11-3. White had the inning's biggest blow with a two-run triple into the gap in right-center field. Also in the frame, Sheehan went the other way for a two-run double down the right-field line, LaVorgna stroked a two-run single to center, Burns pushed an RBI single to right and Felician pitching issued four walks.

Franklin Pierce tacked on one run in the sixth, two in the seventh and one more in the eighth to create the 15-3 final. In the sixth, White notched his first career home run, an inside-the-park, solo job to left field. In the seventh, Burns singled and scored on an RBI single to right by junior third baseman Jay Jabs (Schwenksville, Pa.), who later scored on an RBI single to left by LaVorgna. In the eighth, the bench came through with the final run, as sophomore Brad Roberto (San Diego, Calif.) socked a pinch-hit triple to right-center and scored on an RBI, pinch-hit groundout by sophomore Adam Chase (Bridgewater, Mass.).

Senior right-hander Miles Sheehan (Madison, Conn.) took the ball for the Ravens and threw 95 pitches (66 strikes) over the first six innings. He allowed three runs on seven hits, walked three, threw two wild pitches and struck out six to pick up the win (2-0).

Brooks (1-2) was the first of six pitchers on the other side of the ledger for Felician, and threw 90 pitches (41 strikes) over the opening 4.1 innings. He surrendered six runs (five earned) on six hits, walked six, hit a batter, threw three wild pitches and recorded just one strikeout.

In the second game -- a seven-inning affair -- Franklin Pierce opened the scoring with an unearned run in the top of the third inning. With one out, Maxx Sheehan singled to center and wound up on second on the play, as Diesel misplayed the ball in center field. After an errant pickoff throw moved the runner to third, Jabs drove home the game's first run with an RBI, ground-rule double to right.

Felician answered immediately with a run in the home half of the third to tie the game at 1-1. Senior shortstop Ralph Caccavale took a five-pitch walk leading off, managed to move all the way to third on a sacrifice bunt by junior designated hitter Garrett Luna and scored on an RBI groundout on the left side by Grant.

The Ravens took control of the game with six runs in the top of the fourth to open up a 7-1 lead. Franklin Pierce got help from three Felician errors, which led to two unearned runs, as the Ravens sent 10 men to the plate and needed just three hits to plate the six runs. Jabs had the biggest blow of the inning, as he pulled a two-run single through the right side. Also in the inning, Burns drew an RBI walk, White had an RBI single through the left side and senior shortstop Justin Brock (Latham, N.Y.) pulled an RBI single through the left side, as the Ravens scored six times, without the benefit of an extra-base hit.

Felician cut the gap to 7-2 with a run in the home half of the fourth. Sophomore first baseman Jason Polgano started things with a two-out triple into the gap in left-center and then scored when junior catcher Matt Kleinstein followed with an RBI double to right-center.

Franklin Pierce tacked on a run in the fifth and two unearned tallies in the sixth to push the lead as high as 10-2. In the fifth, senior first baseman Matthew O'Herron (Springfield, Mass.) tripled to left-center and scored on a sacrifice fly to center by White. In the sixth, Maxx Sheehan walked and later scored while Jabs reached on a dropped pop-up. Jabs would later score on an RBI triple to left by LaVorgna.

Felician picked up a run in the bottom of the seventh to create the 10-3 final. Grant reached on a one-out, infield single, stole second and scored on an RBI single through the left side by Diesel.

It was sophomore right-hander Anthony Matarazzo (Medford, Mass.) on the mound for the Ravens in the second game, and he threw 95 pitches (64 strikes) over the opening six innings. He allowed two runs on six hits, walked three and struck out eight on the way to the win (3-0).

Junior right-hander Matt Blandino (0-2) logged the first five innings on the mound for Felician and threw 98 pitches (62 strikes) in the process. He was touched for eight runs (five earned) on seven hits, walked four and struck out three.

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).