GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (March 3, 2017) – It took 122 pitches in just his second start of the year, but junior right-hander John Amendola (Wallingford, Conn.) finished what he started on Friday afternoon, firing a six-hit shutout to propel the Franklin Pierce University baseball team to a 2-0 road win over Adelphi at Bonomo Field. The only offense in the non-conference contest came via solo home runs from senior left fielder Chris LaVorgna (North Haven, Conn.) and junior catcher Stephen Octave (New Windsor, N.Y.).

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 4-3 and has back-to-back wins for the first time in 2017, while Adelphi falls to 1-2.

Amendola (1-1) stole the show on Long Island on Friday, as he authored the second shutout of his career. He held the Panthers to just six hits, a walk and a hit batsman while going the distance, and faced only 33 batters, thanks to a double play and a caught stealing along the way.

Adelphi got only one runner to third base on the day, in the bottom of the fifth inning, when a single, a groundout and a passed ball put sophomore center fielder Jonathan Iadevaia at third with one out. Amendola answered the challenge by striking out senior second baseman Zack Levinson on seven pitches and inducing a comebacker from junior third baseman Steven Withers to retire the side.

In the endgame, after a two-out single by junior catcher Kory Cassara in the seventh inning, Amendola retired the final seven Adelphi hitters of the game to nail down the shutout. The 122-pitch outing (85 strikes) marked the largest workload of Amendola's collegiate career.

The Franklin Pierce offense backed its pitcher up with a pair of solo home runs, which would turn out to be enough on Friday to complete the two-game weekend sweep of Adelphi. Both long balls came with two outs in their respective inning. First, in just the top of the first inning, LaVorgna belted his first home run of the season to left field. Later, in the top of the fourth, it was Octave who went deep to center field for his first of the season to cap the game's scoring.

Senior left-hander Matthew O'Connor (0-1) threw 86 pitches (57 strikes) while logging the first six innings on the mound for Adelphi in a losing effort. He allowed two runs on six hits, issued one walk and did not record a strikeout. Franklin Pierce batters combined to strike out just four times in the game.

The Ravens return to the field on Friday, March 10, when they open a seven-game trip to North Carolina with a neutral-site, non-conference contest against St. Thomas Aquinas. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C.

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).