COLCHESTER, Vt. (May 5, 2022) -- Four pitchers combined to hang 16 consecutive zeros on Thursday afternoon, as the Franklin Pierce University baseball team did not yield a single run over the course of a doubleheader sweep of Saint Michael's on the road at Doc Jacobs Field. In the first game, junior right-hander Jake Ursillo (North Haledon, N.J.) and sophomore right-hander James Draughn (Framingham, Mass.) combined to author a nine-hit shutout. In the second game, it was a seven-inning, six-hit shutout, courtesy of sophomore right-hander Kyle Roche (Braintree, Mass.) and junior right-hander Ryan Mueller (Lynbrook, N.Y.).

With the sweep of the Northeast-10 Conference twinbill, Franklin Pierce improves to 26-14 (14-8 NE10), while Saint Michael's falls to 4-31 (3-19 NE10). The two teams will close out the regular season on Saturday, with a 1 p.m. doubleheader at Doc Jacobs Field.

Game 1: Franklin Pierce 7, Saint Michael's 0

Franklin Pierce got the only run it would need in the first game in the top of the second inning. With two outs, sophomore Hunter Wilichoski (Hamilton, Mass.) worked a walk, stole second and came around to score on an RBI single to right-center by junior Joseph Pesce (Lake Mary, Fla.).

It was single runs in both the third, fourth and fifth innings as well, as the Ravens built the lead out to 4-0 on RBI doubles by junior Graham Smith (Wilmington, Mass.), Pesce and graduate student Charles Lebron (Brooklyn, N.Y.), in that order. Sophomore Randy Flores (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added a two-run double to right-center in the sixth and an RBI single to right in the eighth to round out the 7-0 final score.

Ursillo and Draughn combined on the shutout on the mound for the Ravens. Ursillo went the first four innings on 61 pitches (40 strikes), allowed five hits, walked one, hit two batters and struck out four. Draughn (2-0) tossed 54 pitches (39 strikes) while cruising through the final five innings with four hits, no walks and three strikeouts, as he faced just 18 batters.

Senior right-hander Sean Birch (1-9) needed 71 pitches (43 strikes) to get through four-plus innings on the hill for Saint Michael's. He was charged with four runs on six hits, walked three, hit two more and struck out three.

Game 2: Franklin Pierce 4, Saint Michael's 0

In the second game, two runs right away in the top of the first would be more than enough for the Ravens. With one out, Smith reached on an error, stole second and scored on an RBI double to right field by sophomore Ian Battipaglia (Cheshire, Conn.). Battipaglia went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a two-out double to left by junior Jake Miller (Waltham, Mass.).

Franklin Pierce added an unearned run in the fourth, as Lebron reached on an error and later scored on an RBI single through the left side of the infield by Wilichoski. A final run in the seventh created the 4-0 final, as junior Joel Lara (Boston, Mass.) was hit by a pitch, stole both second and third, and scored on a sacrifice fly to right by Flores.

Meanwhile, Roche took care of most of the work on the mound, as he logged 6.1 scoreless innings on 77 pitches (52 strikes) on the way to the win (5-1). He allowed five hits, walked two and struck out three. Mueller recorded the final two outs to close out the second shutout of the day.

Sophomore right-hander Jared Duquette (0-8) went the distance on 98 pitches (64 strikes) on the other side of the ledger. He surrendered four runs (one earned) on five hits, walked two, hit a batter and struck out seven.