MANCHESTER, N.H. (April 27, 2016) – In what was almost certainly the first-ever meeting between No. 1 and No. 2 nationally ranked programs in the history of college baseball in New England, it was the No. 2/8 Franklin Pierce University baseball team which stood tall in the spotlight on Wednesday night at Penmen Field. Senior right-hander Paul Covelle (Medford, Mass.) threw a complete-game three-hitter and was backed up by a seven-run, 12-hit attack, as the Ravens posted a 7-1 win over No. 1/5 Southern New Hampshire in Northeast-10 Conference, Northeast Division play.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 36-4 (17-2 Northeast-10, 12-1 Northeast Division) and has won eight in a row, while SNHU falls to 37-4 (22-2 Northeast-10, 14-2 Northeast Division) and has its winning streak snapped at 19 games. The win allowed Franklin Pierce to claim two of the three regular-season meetings from their fellow regional power, though the two are likely to meet in the postseason as well.

Covelle (7-1), who departed after just one inning in his start a week ago, bounced back with perhaps the signature start of his career under the lights in Manchester on Wednesday night. He needed just 103 pitches (71 strikes) to dispose of the Penmen and faced just 32 batters in his complete-game outing. Covelle seemed to get stronger as the night went on, retiring 10 of the final 11 hitters of the ballgame to finish off his three-hitter. He allowed just one run, in the fourth inning, walked one, hit one batter and struck out six.

As it turned out, the Ravens would not have needed Covelle to be quite so unhittable, as the offense struck early and often against SNHU sophomore right-hander Justin Valdespina. Valdespina (7-3) -- who has now been beaten twice by Covelle and the Ravens this spring -- was ambushed for seven runs (four earned) on 11 hits over five-plus innings, with Franklin Pierce swinging freely at fastballs early in the count for much of the evening. Valdespina walked one, struck out six and needed 89 pitches (60 strikes) to get through just five innings, plus three batters in the sixth. Each member of the Ravens lineup had at least one hit off the SNHU starter.

The first salvo from the Ravens came in the top of the second, as senior right fielder Max DiTondo (Marshfield, Mass.) led off the inning with a bang. He attacked the second pitch of the frame and drove his third home run of the season deep into the trees beyond the center field fence.

Four more runs -- three of them unearned -- in the top of the third pushed the lead out to 5-0. Junior second baseman Kyle Hood (Arlington, Mass.) led off and pulled a double over the third-base bag and down the left-field line. He moved to third on a two-strike single through the left side of the infield by senior center fielder Maxx Sheehan (San Jose, Calif.) and scored when senior shortstop Justin Brock (Latham, N.Y.) dumped an RBI single into center field. Junior third baseman Jay Jabs (Schwenksville, Pa.) followed and pulled a single into right field to load the bases for junior designated hitter Chris LaVorgna (North Haven, Conn.).

In a 1-2 hole, LaVorgna chopped the seventh pitch of his at-bat down the third-base line. SNHU junior third baseman Zach Goldstein looked to come home to cut down Sheehan, but could not field the ball cleanly, leaving everybody safe and the Ravens out front, 3-0. The miscue left the bases loaded for DiTondo, and things proceeded to get even weirder at Penmen Field. DiTondo lofted a pop up into extremely shallow center field, which graduate student shortstop Mike Mastroberti made a diving catch of, with his back towards home plate, while Brock appeared to tag and score from third. Ultimately, Brock was ruled out for having left early on the apparent sacrifice fly, though video appeared to show he did no such thing.

After the commotion and arguments settled down, runners were left at first and second with two outs for senior first baseman Matthew O'Herron (Springfield, Mass.). O'Herron unloaded on the second pitch he saw and drove the game's pivotal hit, a two-run double into the gap in left-center to score Jabs from second and LaVorgna from first to make it 5-0.

SNHU had two of its three hits in the bottom of the fourth inning to pick up its only run of the night. With two outs, junior center fielder Carson Helms lifted a towering fly ball the other way, down the right-field line. With the outfield shifted for the hard-hitting Helms to pull, DiTondo was left with a run longer than he could make, and the ball fell inside the line for a double. Junior first baseman Derek Bauer was next and knocked an RBI single back through the middle to score Helms.

Franklin Pierce tacked on single insurance runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to create the 7-1 final. With one out and nobody on in the fifth, LaVorgna clubbed the second pitch of his at-bat over the fence to the left of center field for his second home run of the season. In the sixth, senior second baseman Kurtis White (Nahant, Mass.) led off with a double the other way into the gap in left-center, moved to third on a single to right by sophomore catcher Christopher Stanford (Quebec City, Quebec) and scored when Hood lashed an RBI single into center field, knocking Valdespina out of the game.

The Ravens return to the field on Thursday, April 28, when they travel to Saint Anselm for a Northeast-10 Conference, Northeast Division contest. First pitch is set for 3:30 p.m. at Sullivan Park in Manchester.

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).