Recap by student-staff writer Ryan Fitzpatrick

YAPHANK, N.Y. (2/28/25) - The Franklin Pierce baseball team battle through a tough game 1 and bounce back with a shutout in game 2 with multiple home runs by the Ravens.

Score: Game 1 – Franklin Pierce 5, Queens 6, Game 2 – Franklin Pierce 8, Queens 0.
Records: Franklin Pierce 5-5 (0-0 NE10), Queens 3-4 (0-0 ECC)
Location: Yaphank, NY
Date: February 28th, 2025

Game 1:

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Knights started scoring early in the bottom of the first inning. Robert Jacobson singling out to center field scoring Michael Prisco after reaching on an error. Matt Filip followed with a base hit to score Michael Vilardi.
• Niklas Pavia (Bolton, Mass.) gets back on track in the second inning. After a leadoff double, the sophomore settles in and tallies his third strikeout and delivers 3 scoreless frames.
• The Ravens get on the board in the 4th inning as Nolan DeAndrade (Bridgewater, Mass) and Anthony Marcano (Boston, Mass.) hit back to back home runs to start the inning. Pavia goes back out to pitch in the bottom half of the 4th inning and tallies two more strikeouts.
• With the game tied at 2, the Knights were threatening with 2 runners on in the bottom of the 5th inning. Prisco comes through for the Knights as he sends out a 3 run homer with 2 outs to take back the lead.
• The Ravens seek to chip away in the 5-2 ballgame. In the top of the 6th, DeAndrade hits a leadoff single and steals second. Shane Hewlette (Deer Park, N.Y.) then sends one out over the center field wall to get the game within 1 run.
• The Ravens were down to their final out in the 7th. Kiobel Lugo (Boston, Mass.) had other plans. He hits a game-tying triple as Jacob Roque (Wilmington, Mass.) scores. However, the Ravens were unable to bring Lugo home taking the game into the bottom of the 7th, tied at 5.
• After a leadoff walk, Penn Sealey advanced to second on a wild pitch, then to third on a flyout. With the winning run on third, Vilardi ends it with a walk-off single as the Knights win game 1, 6-5.

BREAKING DOWN THE NUMBERS

• Pavia allowed 5 runs in his 5+ innings of work. Only 3 of those runs were earned.
• The Knights out hit the Ravens 9-6
• The Ravens only left 4 on base, the Knights left 5.

Game 2:

HOW IT HAPPENED

• It was all about game 2 for the Ravens. Kyle Salvati (Mount Sinai, N.Y.) was on the bump for the Ravens as he gave them a solid outing. Before he had the chance to pitch, the Ravens offense gave him the lead as Lugo homers on just the second pitch of the game. Then, in the bottom half of the 1st, Salvati strikes out 2 for a 1, 2, 3 inning.
• Salvati runs into some trouble after giving up a late double in the 2nd inning to Filip but gets out of it with a strikeout.
• The Ravens were electric in the 3rd. DeAndrade leads off the inning with a solo blast out to left field, extending the Ravens' lead at 2-0. Marcano sends an even further shot out to left, as his no-doubt homer made it 3-0. Elias Meredith (Philadelphia, Pa) comes in to pinch-hit, and on the very next pitch after the home run, he singles up the middle. Meredith then steals second. After a merry-go-round of walks, the Ravens found themselves scoring 2 more times with the free bases. After the Ravens bat around, the Knights finally get out of the inning, leaving the bases loaded.
• Salvati continued to ride off this momentum as he tallies 2 more strikeouts in the bottom half of the 3rd.
• A new arm enters for the K nights in the 6th inning, but the Ravens did not let that put out the fire, as Hewlette and DeAndrade go back-to-back driving the lead out to 8-0.
• Damien Carter (Milford, Mass.) shuts the door on the Knights, tallying two strikeouts over the final 2 innings.

BREAKING DOWN THE NUMBERS

• The Ravens out hit the Knights 8-6, with lots of baserunners coming from walks.
• It was a clean game in the field for both teams with 0 errors.
• The Ravens made the Knights strand 7 runners in the shutout, as they themselves stranded 9.

UP NEXT FOR THE RAVENS: The Ravens will continue this double-header weekend on Saturday as they face the Queens College Knights again. Game 1 is set for noon.