COLCHESTER, Vt. (May 5, 2016) – For a second straight day, the crimson and grey merry-go-round continued around the bases at Doc Jacobs Field on Thursday afternoon, as the No. 1/5 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team wrapped up the regular season with a 16-4 win over Saint Michael's in Northeast-10 Conference, Northeast-10 Division play. Senior center fielder Maxx Sheehan (San Jose, Calif.) led the way at the top of the order with a 3-for-4 day, scored three runs and drove in five more.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 44-4 (25-2 Northeast-10, 20-1 Northeast Division), has won 16 in a row and sweeps the three-game series from the Purple Knights, while Saint Michael's wraps up its season at 5-29 (4-18 Northeast-10, 4-17 Northeast Division). Franklin Pierce, which finished 48-4 a year ago, is now 92-8 over its last 100 games dating to the start of 2015.

Franklin Pierce will open the postseason on Tuesday, May 10, when it hosts the first round of the Northeast-10 Championship at Pappas Field in Rindge. The opponent is still to be determined, but first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m., as the Northeast Division's top seed will host its fourth seed. The first 150 Franklin Pierce students with ID will be admitted free of charge on Tuesday night. Ticket prices for Tuesday's first-round contest will be $6 for adults; $4 for seniors, students and children; and $1 for students with a valid ID from a Northeast-10 institution.

A win on Tuesday night would allow the Ravens to host the remainder of the Northeast-10 Championship, a double-elimination event scheduled for Thursday, May 12 through Saturday, May 14. Franklin Pierce is the defending Northeast-10 champion.

On Thursday, the Ravens put the game out of reach early, sending 11 men to the plate and scoring seven runs in the top of the first inning to blow the game open. Sheehan, who had already reached on an error and scored in the inning, fired the biggest salvo of the inning when he made his second trip to the plate. With the bases full and two outs, Sheehan drove the second pitch of his at-bat into the gap in left-center field for a three-run triple to cap the inning's scoring. Earlier in the frame, senior first baseman Matthew O'Herron (Springfield, Mass.) had a two-run triple to center field, while both senior designated hitter Chris LaVorgna (North Haven, Conn.) and sophomore catcher Christopher Stanford (Quebec City, Quebec) knocked RBI singles into center field.

Franklin Pierce made it 11-0 with four more runs in the top of the third inning. Senior left fielder Kurtis White (Nahant, Mass.) doubled and later scored on an RBI single to center by Sheehan, after junior second baseman Kyle Hood (Arlington, Mass.) had walked. After another walk, this time to junior third baseman Jay Jabs (Schwenksville, Pa.), loaded the bases, LaVorgna plated all three runs by firing a three-run triple down the right-field line.

The Ravens kept pouring it on, following with four more runs in the top of the fourth to stretch the lead to 15-0. Jabs had an RBI double into right-center in the inning, while Sheehan and senior shortstop Justin Brock (Latham, N.Y.) both had RBI singles and a fourth run scored on an error.

Another run, in the top of the fifth, pushed the lead as high as 16-0, as the Ravens started to remove their starting lineup from the blowout. Sophomore John Friday (Southborough, Mass.) reached with a pinch-hit double leading off, and later scored on an RBI groundout by Stanford.

Saint Michael's got on the board with three runs in the bottom half of the fifth to cut the gap to 16-3. Sophomore catcher Aiden Burton led off with an infield single and later scored on an RBI single by freshman shortstop Calvin Holland. Freshman center fielder Matt Downing singled and ultimately scored on a wild pitch. Lastly, junior left fielder Steven Auger was hit by a pitch and eventually scored on a passed ball.

One final run for the Purple Knights in the bottom of the seventh created the 16-4 final. Holland reached on an error leading off and later scored on an RBI groundout by freshman pitcher Trevor Allen.

Sophomore right-hander John Amendola (Wallingford, Conn.) started and picked up the win for the Ravens, but was not all that efficient, as he threw 97 pitches (63 strikes) over just five innings. Ultimately, Amendola (6-1) allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits, walked two, hit a batter, threw a wild pitch and struck out nine.

On the other side of the ledger, junior right-hander Dylan Lavery (0-6) started and slogged through the disastrous first inning for Saint Michael's before departing, using 44 pitches (29 strikes) to do so. Though all seven runs were unearned, thanks to an early-inning error, Lavery allowed five hits and walked two in the inning, while recording three strikeouts.

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).