FLUSHING, N.Y. (March 11, 2022) -- Looking to turn the tide after a largely-unenjoyable trip to North Carolina, the Franklin Pierce University baseball team was on the road on Friday for a non-conference doubleheader against Queens (N.Y.). The Ravens got the bats going early, as a first-inning grand slam by sophomore Hunter Wilichoski (Hamilton, Mass.) keyed a 10-1 win in the first game at Hennekens Stadium. In the second game, Franklin Pierce piled up 11 hits in just seven innings to finish off the sweep of the twinbill, 6-1.

With the wins, Franklin Pierce improves to 7-5, while Queens falls to 5-5. Queens committed 10 errors over the course of the doubleheader.

Game 1: Franklin Pierce 10, Queens 1

The Ravens got things started in a hurry in the first game, with a four-spot, on just one hit, in the top of the first. A fly out, a pair of walks, a hit batsman and a strikeout conspired to leave the bases loaded, but with two outs and Franklin Pierce in danger of coming away with nothing. Sophomore Hunter Wilichoski (Hamilton, Mass.) took care of things though, as he clobbered a 1-0 pitch over the fence in left for a grand slam and his first home run as a Raven.

The first-inning long ball was all Franklin Pierce would need. The Ravens tacked on two more in the second, courtesy of a two-out error, and all the drama was gone from the contest before it was even a half-hour old. It was one of five errors Queens would make in the game, leading to four unearned runs, as Franklin Pierce won going away, 10-1.

Graduate student left-hander Patrick Hannon (Willington, Conn.) took care of business on the other side of things for the Ravens, with seven innings of one-run ball. He tossed 80 pitches (62 strikes), including 24 first-pitch strikes against 30 batters, scattered nine hits, walked two and struck out six on the way to the win (2-0).

Things did not go quite as swimmingly on the hill for Queens' own graduate-student hurler, Julien Arcos (1-1). The right-hander worked the first five innings and was tagged for eight runs (five earned) in the loss. Arcos surrendered just four hits, but walked two and hit two more along the way.

Game 2: Franklin Pierce 6, Queens 1

Further sloppy defense helped the Ravens get on the board early in the second game as well, with a run in the top of the second. Junior Graham Smith (Wilmington, Mass.) started things with a two-out single to center, and then went first-to-third on a pickoff attempt gone wrong, as freshman first baseman Matt Filip threw the ball away. This set the stage for junior Joel Lara (Boston, Mass.), who put the ball in play with a squeeze bunt and wound up with an RBI as Smith eluded a tag attempt by the pitcher on the third-base line.

Queens answered right away in the bottom half of the second, to make it 1-1. Freshman Marc Cisco led off the frame with a double down the left-field line, moved to third on a groundout and scored on an RBI groundout by sophomore Colin Diez.

Franklin Pierce reclaimed the lead immediately, with a three-spot in the top of the third, to seize control of the seven-inning affair. Sophomore Jose Savinon (Brooklyn, N.Y.) lashed an RBI single through the left side to put the Ravens out front, Smith drove in a run with a single to center, and sophomore Ryan Lavelle (East Longmeadow, Mass.) scored on a first-and-third double-steal play.

The Ravens tacked on two more in the fifth to create the 6-1 final.

Sophomore right-hander Kyle Roche (Braintree, Mass.) took the ball in the second game for Franklin Pierce and threw 103 pitches (62 strikes) over 5.1 innings of one-run ball. He allowed just four hits and struck out eight on the way to the win (2-0), though he did issue five walks, which ultimately led to the hefty pitch count. Fellow sophomore right-hander Hunter Reynolds (Marlborough, Mass.) took over, induced a double-play ball to end the sixth, and then worked a 1-2-3 seventh to finish things off.

On the other side, junior left-hander Liam Pulsipher (0-3) -- son of former Major Leaguer Bill Pulsipher -- needed 111 pitches (78 strikes) to get through five innings of work. He was touched up for six runs (four earned) on 11 hits, walked one, hit a batter and struck out five.

The Ravens are back on the road next weekend, for a three-game, non-conference series at Felician.