CARY, N.C. (March 10, 2017) – Senior right-hander Cody McPartland (Sound Beach, N.Y.) went the distance on Friday afternoon, tossing a complete-game four-hitter and striking out 12, as the Franklin Pierce University baseball team picked up a 3-1 win over St. Thomas Aquinas in non-conference, neutral-site play at the USA Baseball National Training Complex. Later in the day, the Ravens surrendered four runs in the seventh and dropped an 8-3 decision to Dominican (N.Y.).

With the split, Franklin Pierce now stands at 5-4 on the season. St. Thomas Aquinas fell to 3-4 with the loss, while Dominican -- which has now scored 59 runs in its first six games (9.83 runs/game) -- improved to 4-2 with its victory.

McPartland (3-0) was the story in the first game of the day, as he faced 34 batters while dispatching the Spartans, who were NCAA Championship qualifiers a year ago. He piled up 12 strikeouts on the afternoon, while allowing just one run on four hits and throwing his first complete game in just his second start as a Raven. McPartland walked one, hit a pair of batters and balked twice. Dating back to last season at Dowling, McPartland has thrown four complete games in his last six collegiate starts.

Franklin Pierce -- which played as the home team in both of Friday's games -- opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the second inning. Junior first baseman Dalton Davis (Birmingham, Ala.) started the inning with a double, moved to third on a groundout and scored on an RBI single by junior third baseman John Friday (Southborough, Mass.).

After the next five innings went scoreless, St. Thomas Aquinas tied the game at 1-1 with a run in the top of the eighth. Starting the inning at the top of the order, junior shortstop Joseph Pena singled leading off, moved to second on a passed ball, and came around to score on a double by junior second baseman Anthony Shkrelja.

The Ravens answered immediately, with a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth to take the lead for good. Also starting at the top of the order, senior shortstop Lucas Luopa (Keene, N.H.) opened the frame with a single, stole second and came around to score two batters later on an RBI single by senior designated hitter Chris LaVorgna (North Haven, Conn.). LaVorgna moved to second as Davis was hit by a pitch and later scored on an RBI single by Friday.

Handed a two-run lead, McPartland went back to the mound for the ninth, struck out the first two batters he faced and set the side down in order to finish off the contest.

For St. Thomas Aquinas, junior right-hander Frankie Moscatiello threw the first six innings and did not factor in the decision. He allowed one run on four hits, walked two and struck out 10, as he matched McPartland pretty much step-for-step over the first six innings. Junior right-hander Chris Pennell (0-1) allowed two runs on two hits and struck out four over the next 1.1 innings and suffered the loss for the Spartans.

In the second game of the day, Dominican opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first. Sophomore first baseman Jordan Bernacet singled with one out and would eventually come around to score on an RBI single by sophomore second baseman Justin Decker.

The Chargers tacked on two runs in the top of the third to push the lead to 3-0. Senior left fielder and leadoff hitter Jayson Gray opened the inning with a double and scored two batters later on a triple by senior center fielder Arbely Soto. Soto would score two batters later, when junior designated hitter Tyler Malia provided an RBI single.

Franklin Pierce clawed back with single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to force a 3-3 tie through six. In the fourth, LaVorgna singled with one out, moved to second on a groundout and scored on a double by Friday, who picked up his third RBI of the day. In the fifth, junior right fielder Harrison Smoske (Burlington, Mass.) singled, stole second and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Luopa. In the sixth, junior catcher Stephen Octave (New Windsor, N.Y.) singled and ultimately came home to score on an RBI double by senior second baseman Kyle Hood (Arlington, Mass.).

Things came undone for the Ravens in the top of the seventh due to myriad causes, including a two-out walk, five hits against three pitchers, and even umpire error. In all, Dominican would send 10 batters to the plate and score four times, to take a 7-3 lead it would not relinquish.

With one out, junior shortstop Joseph Libio started things with a single against the Franklin Pierce starter, senior right-hander Tanner Bird (Adams, Mass.). Bird then got his second strikeout of the inning, fanning Gray for the second out, before issuing an ill-timed walk to Bernacet. Soto followed with an RBI single to plate Libio and give the Chargers the lead, while leaving runners at first and second with two outs.

The single spelled the end of the afternoon for Bird, who gave way to junior right-hander Dylan Dennis (Wakefield, Mass.), who immediately surrendered a single to Decker to load the bases. Next, however, the game got paradoxical, as Dennis did enough to get out of the inning, but then watched things unravel in front of him anyway.

Dennis got Malia to chase a slider in the dirt for the third strike and what should have been an inning-ending strikeout. With two outs and the bases full, Octave did his part by blocking the pitch, picking up the baseball and stepping on home plate, which should have forced out Bernacet to end the threat and keep the score at 4-3. Inexplicably, the home plate umpire ruled all runners safe, counted the run, and allowed the inning to continue, despite the vehement protests of the Franklin Pierce coaching staff.

It was all downhill from there for the Ravens, as Dennis stayed on and allowed an RBI single to senior third baseman Max Franzone to make it 6-3. Dennis then yielded to senior right-hander Ben Collincini (Freehold, N.J.), who allowed a run-scoring single to sophomore catcher Brett Karcher-Bowen, before recording a strikeout to end the inning.

The Chargers tacked on one more run in the top of the eighth to create the 8-3 final. Gray worked a one-out walk, stole second, moved to third on a single by Bernacet and scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Soto.

Bird (1-1) logged the first 6.2 innings on the mound for the Ravens. He was ultimately charged with six runs on nine hits, walked two and struck out 11 while taking the loss.

Sophomore right-hander John-Michael Broderick (2-0) went six-plus innings on the hill for Dominican. He surrendered three runs (two earned) on eight hits, did not issue a walk, hit two batters and struck out two while picking up the win. Junior right-hander Kraigen Rasalla threw shutout ball, allowed one hit, walked two and struck out two while tossing the final three innings to notch his first save of the season.

The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, March 11, with two more games at the USA Baseball National Training Complex. Franklin Pierce will square off with Slippery Rock at 11:30 a.m. and Saint Augustine's at 4 p.m.

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).