RINDGE, N.H. (May 3, 2017) – Closing out the regular season at home on Wednesday afternoon, the Franklin Pierce University baseball team took care of things in style with a doubleheader sweep of Saint Michael's in Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division play at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field. In the first game, freshman catcher Dylan Jones (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) went 4-for-4 and scored four times, while junior right fielder Adam Chase (Burlington, Mass.) went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in a 13-1 Ravens win. In the second game, Franklin Pierce picked up a 6-2 win behind 5.1 innings with seven strikeouts from freshman right-hander Derek Duffy (Farmington, Conn.).

With the wins, Franklin Pierce wraps up the regular season at 30-13 (20-7 NE10, 16-5 NE Div.), while Saint Michael's falls to 3-25 (3-21 NE10, 3-15 NE Div.). It also marked the 16th straight season of at least 30 wins for the Ravens, a streak which dates back to the 2002 season.

Franklin Pierce will finish as either the second or third seed in the Northeast Division and will either host Merrimack or travel to Merrimack or Southern New Hampshire in the first round of the Northeast-10 Championship on Tuesday, May 9. Merrimack and SNHU are set to square off in a three-game series to wrap up the season on Thursday and Saturday. If SNHU wins at least two of the three, Franklin Pierce will finish as the second seed and host Merrimack in the first round. If Merrimack wins two of the three, Franklin Pierce will finish as the third seed and travel to Merrimack for the first round. If Merrimack sweeps the three-game series, Franklin Pierce will finish as the third seed and travel to SNHU for the first round. More information will be available regarding time, opponent and location after the conclusion of play on Saturday.

In Wednesday's first game, the Ravens jumped all over the Saint Michael's starter, sophomore right-hander Denis Cooney, for five runs in the bottom of the first to stake out a 5-0 lead. Chase opened the scoring loudly with one out and the bases empty, as he turned on a 2-1 pitch and homered an estimated 330 feet down the left-field line. It was his second home run of the season.

Junior designated hitter Stephen Octave (New Windsor, N.Y.) got things started again with a two-out single back through the middle, before a walk to junior first baseman Dalton Davis (Birmingham, Ala.) and a single through the left side by Jones loaded the bases. Graduate student left fielder Anthony DeDona (Bethpage, N.Y.) took a five-pitch walk to force home Octave, and then senior second baseman Kyle Hood (Arlington, Mass.) hit a ground ball which probably should have ended the inning. Instead of throwing across the diamond to get Hood, Saint Michael's senior shortstop Kyle Cone elected to go to second base, but DeDona beat the throw, which left everybody safe, the bases still loaded and Hood with an RBI fielder's choice.

Another bases-loaded walk, this one to freshman shortstop Joe Napolitano (Port St. Lucie, Fla.), scored Jones. Junior center fielder Harrison Smoske (Burlington, Mass.) then beat out an infield single to drive home the fifth run of the inning.

Franklin Pierce picked up two more in the second inning to push the lead out to 7-0. Junior third baseman John Friday (Southborough, Mass.) led off with a single through the left side, moved to second as Octave reached on an errant throw, and then Davis worked an eight-pitch walk to load the bases. Jones chased home one run with a sacrifice fly to center field, before DeDona dumped a single the other way into left-center to plate Octave.

Single runs in the third, fourth and sixth innings made it a 10-0 game. In the third, Chase walked and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly to left by Octave. In the fourth, Jones tripled into the gap in right-center and scored on an RBI groundout by DeDona. In the sixth, Jones lined a ball up the middle which tailed into the gap in right-center for a double, and then scored on a sacrifice fly by DeDona, who drove in five runs in the game.

Saint Michael's picked up its lone run in the top of the seventh inning. With one out and nobody on, junior catcher PJ Jasak lifted a high fly ball, just to the left of straightaway left, which settled just beyond the fence for a solo home run of an estimated 330 feet. It was his first home run of the year.

Franklin Pierce tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the eighth to create the 13-1 final. Jones had an RBI double in the frame, while DeDona knocked in a run with a groundout and Smoske plated a run with a sacrifice fly.

Junior right-hander John Amendola (Wallingford, Conn.) took the ball for the Ravens in the first game and departed after five innings with a huge lead and the postseason looming next week. He threw 71 pitches (51 strikes), did not surrender a run on two hits, did not issue a walk and struck out four to pick up the win (6-3).

For Saint Michael's, Cooney (0-3) needed 90 pitches (53 strikes) just to get through three innings on the hill. He was tagged for eight runs (seven earned) on six hits, walked five, hit a batter, threw a wild pitch and struck out three.

In the second game, Franklin Pierce opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the fourth. Davis led off the frame and went the other way with a 1-0 pitch to drive a solo home run of an estimated 370 feet to the power alley in left-center. It was his team-leading seventh home run of the season.

Another solo home run in the bottom of the sixth made it a 2-0 game. With one out and nobody on, freshman designated hitter Richard DiMartino (Yonkers, N.Y.) connected with a 1-1 pitch and ripped a line-drive home run an estimated 375 feet to left-center, which sailed over the 365-foot marker. It was DiMartino's first collegiate home run.

The levee finally broke against Saint Michael's junior right-hander Patrick Martin in the bottom of the eighth, as the Ravens struck for four runs to stretch the lead out to 6-0. Davis led off and drove a ball the other way down the left-field line. Saint Michael's senior left fielder Steven Auger made a diving attempt on the ball, but came up empty, which allowed Davis to lumber around to third with his first triple of the campaign. After a hit batter (Jones) and a walk (DeDona) loaded the bases with one away, Hood knocked a two-run single back up the middle to score both Davis and Jones, while DeDona and Hood took third and second, respectively, as the throw came back in from center field.

Senior Lucas Luopa (Keene, N.H.) then lifted a pinch-hit sacrifice fly to left field which scored DeDona, and Hood would add an unearned run as the play turned into a circus from there. Auger spiked the throw towards the plate from left field, and Hood took off for third as the ball skittered to the middle of the infield. Jasak came out from behind the plate to field the errant throw and fired the ball to third base, but threw the ball away as well, as it skipped past the third baseman and down the left-field line, which allowed Hood to score.

Saint Michael's scratched out a pair of runs in the top of the ninth to create the 6-2 final. With one out, a walk to Cone, a single by Auger and a wild pitch put runners at second and third for the top of the order. Freshman center fielder Connor Hopkins plated Cone from third with a flare into right field, and sophomore third baseman Joe Robertson followed with a line-drive single to right to plate Auger.

Junior left-hander Adam Goss (Waterford, Conn.) took over from there on the mound for Franklin Pierce. He needed just six pitches to get senior right fielder Drew Salk to bounce into a fielder's choice and strike out sophomore designated hitter Trevor Allen to end the game. It was the first save of the season for Goss.

Earlier, Duffy (3-0) had started on the mound and threw 94 pitches (63 strikes) over the opening 5.1 innings on the mound for Franklin Pierce. He did not allow a run, scattered seven hits, did not issue a walk, threw one wild pitch and struck out seven.

For his part, Martin (0-6) lasted 7.1 innings and tossed 102 pitches (68 strikes). He tired at the end and ultimately was charged with six runs (five earned) on eight hits, walked two, hit a batter, threw a wild pitch and struck out one.

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).