SYRACUSE, N.Y. (4/3/23) – The No. 12 Franklin Pierce baseball team came close in the afternoon finale against Le Moyne College, but still found themselves swept by the Dolphins on Monday afternoon by scores of 13-3 and 6-5 at Dick Rockwell Field.

With the losses, Pierce baseball dips to 16-8 (4-0 NE10) on the season while Le Moyne improves to 15-11 (0-0 NE10) with the wins.

GAME #1

A solo home run by graduate Drew Carroll saw the Dolphins strike first in the bottom of the first inning. In the top of the second, the Ravens met the Dolphins with the tying run on a sacrifice infield pop-up by junior Julien Monks (Cambridge, Mass.), scoring sophomore Connor Smalley (West Sayville, N.Y.) from third. However, the Dolphins made quick work of the bottom of the second with an RBI single by Lukas Egenhauser, restoring their one-run lead, 2-1.

After a scoreless third inning for both sides, the Ravens pulled back even with the Dolphins on a solo homer to left field by senior catcher Jake Miller (Waltham, Mass.). Then, in the top of the fifth, Miller would add another RBI off an error by the Le Moyne shortstop, scoring Ian Battipaglia (Cheshire, Conn.) to give Pierce its first lead of the afternoon, 3-2.

The bottom of the frame, however, saw Le Moyne explode for 10 runs on seven hits. The bulk of the Dolphin offense would be provided via three separate home runs, with graduate Nick Nevins and senior Zach Brush each crushing two-run homers, and junior Brady Fureno connecting for a three-run shot. The Dolphins would also see scoring doubles in the inning, as graduate Dewey Roden plated two runs with a shot to right-center, and freshman Brody Keneston scored one with a hit to left.

After being shell-shocked in the fifth, the Ravens would come up short in the top of the sixth with a pair of runners left on base. Le Moyne would snag one more run in the bottom of the sixth to eventually claim the 13-3 triumph over the Ravens.

Junior Hunter Reynolds (Marlborough, Mass.) took the loss (3-2) for Pierce, allowing seven runs on seven hits and four walks through 4.1 innings, striking out four Dolphin batters. Junior Sean Foody (Tappan, N.Y.) entered in relief in the fifth inning, where he allowed five runs on four hits and two walks. Freshman Kyle Salvati (Mount Sinai, N.Y.) wrapped it up for the Ravens with one run allowed on one hit. Both Foody and Salvati each struck out one batter.

GAME #2

In the series finale, Franklin Pierce would strike first in the bottom of the first inning. After connecting for a leadoff double, senior Joel Lara (Boston, Mass.) advanced to third on a Le Moyne wild pitch. From there, fellow senior Joseph Pesce (Lake Mary, Fla.) would take care of the rest with a groundout to the pitcher, plating the runner for the 1-0 Raven lead.

Pierce would expand upon their lead in the top of the third inning with Joseph Pesce and Joel Lara coordinating a double steal, with Lara taking off from third to make it a 2-0 game. However, Le Moyne would turn the tables quickly on the Ravens and tack on five unanswered runs in their half of the inning. Graduate Dewey Roden drove in one run with an RBI double, while another two RBI would score as the result of a Pierce fielding error on a single by freshman Adam Sullivan to left field. Lukas Egenhauser would also be credited with an RBI on a sacrifice flyout to center, bringing the hosts to a 5-2 lead.

Despite the score, the Ravens would get some luck back in the top of the fourth. With one out, and runners at the corners, a wild pitch would clear the path home for sophomore Jose Savinon (Brooklyn, N.Y.) from third, cutting the lead down to 5-3. Then, following scoreless fifth and sixth innings, junior utility Hunter Wilichoski (Hamilton, Mass.) tied things up at 5-all with a two-run bomb to left field, his first homer of the season.

However, the Dolphins were determined to take it all, and did just that with an RBI double by sophomore Benji Ries to walk it off, 6-5.

In his fourth start of the season, senior Danny Gracia (Wilmington, Mass.) took the loss after yielding four runs on three hits and four walks with three strikeouts through 2.1 innings of work. Graduate Brian Hadden, senior Jackson Walker (Phippsburg, Maine) and sophomore Esteban Rivera III (Hamden, Conn.) all worked 3.3 innings of relief, combining for six strikeouts with two runs allowed on three hits.

Next up, Franklin Pierce baseball will travel to Bentley University for a four-game, Northeast Division series with the Falcons, with the first batch of games on Friday, April 7^th scheduled for Noon and 3:00 p.m. start times.