RINDGE, N.H. (April 16, 2016) – The No. 3/4 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team outscored Bentley by a combined 27-2 in a Northeast-10 Conference, Northeast Division doubleheader sweep at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field on Saturday afternoon. In the first game, the Ravens pounded out 19 runs on 13 hits on the way to a 19-2 victory. In the second game, junior third baseman Jay Jabs (Schwenksville, Pa.) hit a pair of home runs and sophomore right-hander John Amendola (Wallingford, Conn.) spun a five-hit shutout in an 8-0 win.

With the wins, Franklin Pierce improves to 30-4 (12-2 Northeast-10, 7-1 Northeast Division) and has won 30 games for the 15th straight season, all under head coach Jayson King. With two losses, Bentley falls to 9-19 (4-9 Northeast-10, 1-8 Northeast Division). Franklin Pierce will look to close out the three-game series sweep at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Pappas Field.

In the first game, Franklin Pierce opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the first inning. Senior center fielder Maxx Sheehan (San Jose, Calif.) was hit by a pitch leading off and scored from there three batters later on a double into the gap in right-center by junior designated hitter Chris LaVorgna (North Haven, Conn.).

The Ravens picked up three more runs in the bottom of the second to push the lead to 4-0. Senior first baseman Matt O'Herron (Springfield, Mass.) led off with a single through the left side of the infield and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, before sophomore catcher Christopher Stanford (Quebec City, Quebec) was hit by a pitch and junior second baseman Kyle Hood (Arlington, Mass.) walked to load the bases with one out. After Sheehan fouled out, senior shortstop Justin Brock (Latham, N.Y.) went the other way and clubbed a double into the gap in right-center to drive home all three runners.

Franklin Pierce broke the game open with six runs in the bottom of the third inning to make it a 10-0 game. In the inning, senior right fielder Max DiTondo (Marshfield, Mass.) reached on an error and later scored on a single through the left side by Stanford, and O'Herron singled before scoring when Hood bounced into an RBI fielder's choice. Senior second baseman Kurtis White (Nahant, Mass.) walked and eventually stole home on a first-and-third double steal. Later, after Sheehan walked and Brock was hit by a pitch, Jabs drove in both of them, along with Hood, by pulling a three-run double down the right-field line and into the corner.

Bentley got on the board with a run in the top of the fourth to make it 10-1. Graduate student first baseman Ryan O'Connor singled up the middle leading off, moved to second on a ground out and scored on a ground-rule double down the left-field line by junior shortstop Justin Ashworth.

The Falcons picked up another run in the top of the fifth to cut the gap to 10-2. Freshman left fielder Cameron Cruz doubled to left leading off as White lost the ball in the sun. Cruz moved to third on a groundout and scored on a sacrifice fly to center by senior second baseman Zachary Littman.

Franklin Pierce tacked on a run in the fifth and two in the sixth to push the lead back out to 13-2. In the fifth, Brock reached on an infield single and later scored on an error. In the sixth, White walked and scored on a passed ball, while Sheehan doubled and scored on an RBI double by Brock.

The Ravens bench piled on six more runs in the bottom of the eighth to create the 19-2 final. Sophomore catcher Stephen Octave (New Windsor, N.Y.) had the big blow of the inning with his first home run of the season, a grand slam of an estimated 340 feet, just beyond the fence and just to the left of straightaway left field. Also in the inning, sophomore Dylan Love (Mahopac, N.Y.) drove in a run with a pinch-hit sacrifice fly and freshman first baseman Ryan Boldwin (Bow, N.H.) drove in a run with an RBI single.

Sophomore right-hander Anthony Matarazzo (Medford, Mass.) started on the mound for Franklin Pierce in the first game and threw 97 pitches (60 strikes) over the first six innings. He allowed two runs on five hits, walked three and struck out six on the way to the win (7-0).

Graduate student right-hander Bill Sullivan (3-4) took the ball for Bentley and needed 73 pitches (38 strikes) to throw just 2.2 innings. He was ultimately tagged for 10 runs (four earned) on six hits, walked four, hit three batters and did not record a strikeout on the way to the loss.

After the first game took three hours and 14 minutes, the pace was much quicker in the back end of the doubleheader, with the game remaining scoreless until the bottom of the fifth inning, when Franklin Pierce took control with five runs. Stanford reached on an error leading off and was in motion on a 2-0 pitch when Hood followed with a ground ball to shortstop. Despite the runner in motion, Ashworth elected to go to second with the ball, but the throw was not in time to retire Stanford, leaving runners at first and second and still nobody out. After a four-pitch walk to Sheehan loaded the bases, Brock pulled a single through the left side of the infield to drive home Stanford. Jabs -- who drove in nine runs in the doubleheader -- followed and slugged the first of his two home runs, a grand slam of an estimated 360 feet to straightaway right field.

Franklin Pierce added a run in the bottom of the seventh to make it 6-0. Jabs led off, got a 2-0 pitch to his liking and drove it an estimated 380 feet to straightaway right field for a solo home run, his ninth of the season. The blast hit approximately 10 feet up on a light tower at the adjacent Sodexo Field, which sits about 30 feet beyond the right-field fence.

Two more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning created the 8-0 final. Stanford singled and later scored on an error, while Sheehan walked and ultimately scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Jabs.

Meanwhile, Amendola (4-1) needed just 113 pitches (70 strikes) and one hour and 59 minutes to dispatch Bentley. He threw a five-hit shutout, walked one, hit a batter, threw a wild pitch and struck out six.

Freshman left-hander Nick Williams (1-1) threw 67 pitches (35 strikes) over the first 4.1 innings for Bentley. He surrendered five runs (four earned) on four hits, walked four and did not record a strikeout.

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).