MANCHESTER, N.H. (4/15/23) - After claiming a win to open the weekend series with Saint Anselm College yesterday afternoon, the Franklin Pierce baseball team ran into some day-two troubles against the Hawks on Saturday, falling in sweeping fashion by 5-4 & 4-1 scores at Sullivan Park. 

With the losses, Pierce baseball drops to 21-11 (8-3 NE10) with the losses, while the Hawks improve to 9-24 (5-6 NE10) overall.

GAME #1

The scoring did not begin until the top of the third, when senior Joel Lara (Boston, Mass.) hit a sacrifice fly-out to center field, allowing junior Ian Battipaglia (Cheshire, Conn.) to advance to third and sophomore Connor Smalley (West Sayville, N.Y.) to cross home plate for the first run of the game. Not too long after, senior outfielder Joseph Pesce (Lake Mary, Fla.) would get on base and steal second, scoring Battipaglia on a throwing error by catcher Mike Borrelli to give the Ravens the 2-0 lead. 

In the bottom of the fourth, the Hawks would cut the deficit in half when senior Matt Collins connected for an RBI single to left field, bringing home Will Panarello. However, the Ravens would get their two-run lead back when sophomore Jose Savinon (Brooklyn, N.Y.) also cracked an RBI single to left, once again scoring Battipaglia to make it 3-1.   

It would be in the bottom of the sixth when things began to take a turn for the worse for the Pierce, as Saint Anselm took control of the score with four runs scored. Mike Pierro led-off the inning with a solo shot to left field, cutting the host deficit to one. Two batters later, junior Zack Clough doubled down the left field line to advance freshman Ben Rose, scoring Panarello for the second time on the day to tie the game at three apiece. With two outs in the inning, senior Brady Doran kept it going for the Hawks with a double to right field, scoring two RBI with Clough and Rose each crossing home plate, giving Saint Anselm its first lead of the day, 5-3.  

In the top of the seventh, junior infielder Julien Monks (Cambridge, Mass.) would pull Pierce back to within one with his first home run as a Raven, a solo shot over the left field line fence to cut. However, the Franklin Pierce comeback effort came up short as the Hawks did not allow the Ravens a single hit following the Monks homer, claiming themselves the 5-4 win to open the twin bill.

Junior right-hander Chaz Powell (Stamford, Conn.) got the nod on the mound for the Ravens, where he allowed two runs on five hits and three walks through five innings of work, striking out three. Graduate Brian Hadden (Newburyport, Mass.) entered in relief and pitched the final inning, giving up two hits and two runs with one strike out, claiming his first loss of the season (1-1). For the Hawks, Dallas Vaughan picked up his third win of the season, where he pitched a complete game with three runs allowed on seven hits, along with one walk and four strikeouts.   

GAME #2

In the Saturday nightcap, it was all Saint Anselm from the beginning as they rallied behind a one-hit outing for pitcher Taylor French, who also worked a complete game. The Hawks jumped on the board first in the bottom of the second inning when Zack Clough drove an RBI single up the middle, bringing home Mike Pierro from first to give the hosts a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the third, senior Mike Borrelli singled to left field, and yielded the same result to extend the Hawks' lead to 2-0. 

The Ravens would only find themselves in a trickier spot in the bottom of the fifth, as Saint Anselm furthered their lead with two more runs. A wild pitch plated junior Richie Williams from third, while a Mike Borrelli infield ground-out to hauled home senior Brady Doran, bringing the score to 4-0. and Doran scored.

In the top of the sixth, the Ravens would spoil the shut-out bid with their first run of the game, thanks to a Jose Savinon sacrifice fly-out to right field to score baserunner Joel Lara from third, cutting the deficit down to 4-1. However, nothing more would come from the Pierce offense, as French's stellar outing on the mound persisted for the win.

Hunter Reynolds (Marlborough, Mass.) pitched five innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and one walk with six strikeouts for his third loss of the season (4-3). Sean Foody (Tappan, N.Y.) closed things out in the final inning, allowing up no hits with one walk and one strikeout. For the Hawks, French picked up his first win of the season, giving up one hit, no runs, four walks, and four total strikeouts.

The Ravens will look to split the weekend series with one last round with the Hawks tomorrow afternoon, with the first pitch scheduled for Noon.