Recaps by student-staff writer Jonah Boyeah 

Philadelphia, PA (3/16/24) – The Franklin Pierce University baseball team went 1-1 on Saturday against the Rams of Jefferson University. The team will play four total games during their two-day trip to Philadelphia.

GAME ONE:
Score: Franklin Pierce 4, Jefferson 2 
Records: Franklin Pierce (5-5, 0-0 NE10), Jefferson (7-5, 0-0 CACC) 
Location: Alumni Field, Philadelphia, PA. 
Date: March 16, 2024 

HOW IT HAPPENED:  

• After no runs through the first inning, the Ravens got on the scoreboard in the second after singles from Hunter Wilochoski (Hamilton, Mass.) and Chris Roberti (New Fairfield, Conn.), set up Brennan Staubley (Plainville, Conn.) with runners on the corners. Staubley hit a single through the left side of the infield and sending Wilochoski home and gave the Ravens the 1-0 lead.
• The Rams tied up the score in the third after Alex Gonzalez tripled, bringing in Marquise Wood, to even up the game at 1-1.
• In the top of the fourth with two outs, the Ravens were able to drive in another run after hits from Wilochoski and Roberti set up Eli Battipaglia (Cheshire, Conn.) with two outs. Battipaglia delivered in the clutch single up the middle, which drove in Wilochoski giving the lead back to the Ravens, 2-1. 
• The Ravens tallied two more runs in the fifth after Battipaglia lead off the inning with a single that brought up Kiobel Lugo (Boston, Mass.) who stayed red-hot and doubled down the left field line bringing in Battipaglia making it 3-1. Lugo then advanced on two wild pitches to move to third and eventually score extending the lead 4-1.  
• The Rams scrapped in one run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly from Justin Egner which brought in Josh Lopez to cut the lead down to 4-2 but the Ravens pitching was able to shut down the Rams and open the series with a win.  

BREAKING DOWN THE NUMBERS: 

• Kyle Roche (Braintree, Mass.) (3-1) got the win for the Ravens and pitched four and a thirds innings, tallying three hits allowed with one earned run while striking out eight Ram batters. Stephen Bangs (Stoughton, Mass.) pitched an inning and a third in relief while Nikolas Pavia (Bolton, Mass.) shut the door getting the save over an inning and a third. Sean Morgan (0-2) got the loss for the Rams allowing nine hits and four earned runs in four innings of work. Jack Ricketts came out of the bullpen for the Rams and pitched three scoreless innings of two-hit ball.  
• The Ravens had 11 hits to the Rams 5. 
• Both the Ravens and the Rams did not commit an error.  
• The Ravens left 9 runners on base while the Rams left 6 runners on base.  

GAME TWO
Following the 4-2 win, the Ravens dropped game two of the day to the Rams, 12-8.

Score: Franklin Pierce 8, Jefferson 12 
Records: Franklin Pierce (5-6, 0-0 NE10), Jefferson (8-5, 0-0 CACC) 
Location: Alumni Field, Philadelphia, PA. 
Date: March 16, 2024 

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

• The Jefferson University offense turned the page in game two and came opened the game with a 8-0 lead through the first three innings. It wasn't until the top of the fourth when the Ravens got on the board when Franklin Pierce loaded the bases and Chris Roberti grounded out to shortstop to send Kiobel Lugo home and make it an 8-1 ball game.
• In the bottom of the fourth, the Rams poured on another three runs and extended their lead to 11-1.
• At the top of the fifth inning, the Ravens' offense came back to life. Ian Battipaglia (Cheshire, Conn.) tripled and scored on a throwing error to make it an 11-2 game. Following a Lugo double and stolen base that moved him to third, Nolan DeAndrade (Bridgewater, Mass.) tripled and sent Lugo home to make it 11-3. After two hit-by-pitches, Roberti almost cleared the bases with a double that brought in Wilochoski and DeAndrade, making it 11-5. Connor Smalley (West Sayville, N.Y.) would then hit a sacrifice fly that brought in Joey Aker (Upton, Mass.) to make it 11-6.  
• Following the explosive five run top of the fifth for the Ravens, the Rams responded with another run to make it 12-6.
• In the sixth, Ian Battipaglia hit his second triple of the game and sent in Michael Quiros (Springfield, Mass.) to make it 12-7. After that, Lugo singled and Battipaglia crossed home plate to make it a four run game, 12-8.
• The Rams then shutout the Ravens at the top of the 7^th inning to close out the victory and tie the series.

BREAKING DOWN THE NUMBERS: 

• Esteban Rivera III (Hamden, Conn.) (0-2) got the loss for the Ravens going only one and two-thirds innings, allowing eight hits and five earned runs and giving up a home run. Drew DeLucia (Medway, Mass.), Michael Bokis (North Brookfield, Mass.), Sean Yoest (Foxborough, Mass.), and Jammie Legget (Southington, Conn.) would see time on the mound and allowed a combined four runs, one of which was earned to Yoest and only allowing three hits. Albert Bobadilla (2-1) got the win for the Rams pitching three and two-thirds innings allowing only three hits and one run. Aiden Barbour, Abixael Sosa, Steve Graziano, AJ Lefton, and Anthony Pillari also saw action on the mound for the Rams.  

UP NEXT FOR THE RAVENS: The Ravens stay on the road as they finish their weekend series with another doubleheader against Jefferson on Sunday the 17^th.