RINDGE, N.H. (March 26, 2022) -- A seventh-inning sacrifice fly by sophomore Randy Flores (Brooklyn, N.Y.) walked it off for the Franklin Pierce University baseball team on Saturday afternoon, as the Ravens completed a doubleheader sweep of visiting Bentley with a 4-3 victory at Pappas Field. Earlier in the day, Franklin Pierce used a five-run third to key a win in the first game of the Northeast-10 Conference twinbill as well, 7-4.

With the pair of seven-inning wins, Franklin Pierce improves to 12-5 (3-0 NE10) and has won seven in a row, while Bentley falls to 5-13 (0-3 NE10). The Ravens will look to finish off the four-game sweep in Sunday's series finale, set for 1 p.m. at Pappas Field.

Game 1: Franklin Pierce 7, Bentley 4

Franklin Pierce took much of the drama out of the first game early, with two in the second and five more in the third, to build out a 7-0 lead. In the second, junior Jake Miller (Waltham, Mass.) was hit by a pitch and later scored on a single to center by sophomore Ryan Lavelle (East Longmeadow, Mass.), who later came around to score as well, on an RBI single through the right side by junior Graham Smith (Wilmington, Mass.).

In the third, sophomore Jose Savinon (Brooklyn, N.Y.) had the biggest blow, with a two-run single through the right side. Sophomore Hunter Wilichoski (Hamilton, Mass.) and Lavelle both had run-scoring singles in the frame as well, while junior Joel Lara (Boston, Mass.) chased home a run by bouncing into a fielder's choice.

The early bundle of runs came in support of graduate student left-hander Patrick Hannon (Willington, Conn.), who chalked up the win (4-0) after 5.1 innings of work, despite not having his best stuff on the mound. The southpaw threw 75 pitches (55 strikes), allowed four runs on nine hits and struck out six.

Bentley made things interesting with three in the fifth and one more in the sixth, but could not get any closer than 7-4. In the fifth, back-to-back one-out singles from juniors Steve Rizzuto and Joe Boushell set the table for graduate student Kyle Halloran, who knocked an RBI single to right. Sophomore Jackson Walonis followed and clubbed a two-run double down the line in left.

In the sixth, sophomore Tyler Gonzalez socked a one-out double into the gap in right-center and scored when senior Charlie Auditore followed with a single back up the middle. The base hit chased Hannon from the game, in favor of senior right-hander Jake Ursillo (North Haledon, N.J.), who stranded Auditore, struck out a pair over 1.2 scoreless innings to finish things off, and earned his second save of the season.

Graduate student left-hander Jared Brooks (3-1) went the distance on 112 pitches (77 strikes) on the other side for Bentley. He allowed seven runs (five earned) on 10 hits, walked one, hit a batter and struck out nine in the complete-game loss.

Game 2: Franklin Pierce 4, Bentley 3

Franklin Pierce fell behind early in the second game, as Bentley plated a pair with two outs against sophomore right-hander Kyle Roche (Braintree, Mass.) in the top of the third. Halloran reached on an infield single deep in the hole on the left side and Walonis followed with a walk. Juniors Tim Zupkus and Eddy Beauregard then provided back-to-back RBI singles through the left side of the infield to stake the Falcons to a 2-0 lead.

The Ravens rallied their way out front with a three-spot in the last of the fifth. Franklin Pierce loaded the bases with one out for Lara, who flied out to shallow center. Flores and sophomore Ian Battipaglia (Cheshire, Conn.) took care of business with two outs though, as the former beat out an infield single to short, and then the latter bounced a two-run single back through the middle, which also chased the Bentley starter, graduate student right-hander Sean Mahan, from the game.

Neither starter would factor in the decision. For his part, Roche could not escape the fourth inning, as he left with one out and runners at the corners after 3.1 innings. Sophomore right-hander Andres Auffant (Center Moriches, N.Y.) stranded both runners, which left Roche charged with two runs on five hits, to go with two walks, a wild pitch and one strikeout. For Bentley, Mahan logged 4.2 innings, allowed three runs on five hits, walked one and struck out two.

Bentley would get Mahan off the hook with a run in the top of the sixth to tie things up, 3-3. With two outs and nobody on, Rizzuto got into one the other way and poked his first home run of the season an estimated 340 feet to straightaway right.

Auffant held the fort from there though, which allowed the Ravens to cash in an unearned run in the last of the seventh to win the game. Lavelle hit a routine ground ball to open the inning, but Boushell could not handle it at short. Lavelle moved up on a sacrifice bunt by junior Graham Smith (Wilmington, Mass.) and went to third on a bunt single up the third-base line by Lara. After Lara took second uncontested, Flores lifted a fly ball to medium-depth left field, which allowed Lavelle to cruise home with the winning run and be mobbed by his celebratory teammates behind home plate.

The run made a winner out of Auffant (1-1), who allowed one run on three hits, walked one and struck out two over the final 3.2 innings. Senior right-hander Brandon Ostiguy (0-1) suffered a tough-luck loss for Bentley, as he conceded just the lone unearned run on one hit while logging two innings on the hill.