O'Herron provides key two-run single in first game

RINDGE, N.H. (April 24, 2014) – Senior right-hander Ryan Leach (Farmingdale, Maine) piled up a career-best 14 strikeouts in the first game, while graduate student left-hander Rob Corsi (Oceanport, N.J.) tossed a complete-game three-hitter in the second game on Thursday evening to lead the way for the No. 28 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team in a doubleheader sweep of Felician in non-conference play at Dr. Arthur and Pappas Field. Franklin Pierce won the first game, 6-3, before picking up a 3-1 win in the second game, which was a seven-inning affair.

With the sweep, Franklin Pierce improves to 30-14 (15-6 Northeast-10, 10-5 Northeast Division), while Felician falls to 22-17 (13-7 Central Atlantic). It was the final non-conference foray of the regular season for Franklin Pierce, which has now won at least 30 games in 13 straight seasons.

Franklin Pierce opened the scoring in the first game with a run in the bottom of the second inning. Junior catcher Matt Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.) led off with a seven-pitch at-bat which ended with a single back up the middle. He moved to second when sophomore first baseman Matt O'Herron (Springfield, Mass.) was hit by a pitch and went to third on a groundout. Walsh scored from there on an RBI infield single chopped up the third-base line by freshman second baseman Kyle Hood (Arlington, Mass.).

The Ravens added a pair of runs in the bottom of the third to push the lead to 3-0. With one out, freshman left fielder Chris LaVorgna (North Haven, Conn.) knocked a first-pitch single to right and moved to second on a first-pitch infield single by junior right fielder John Razzino (Cranston, R.I.). After a groundout moved the runners to second and third, senior designated hitter Marty Dunlap (Dorchester, Mass.) worked a nine-pitch walk to load the bases with two outs. With the bases full, O'Herron fouled off the first pitch and then lined an 0-1 fastball to center field for a two-run single.

An unearned run in the bottom of the fourth pushed the Franklin Pierce lead to 4-0. Hood led off with a single to left field and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. He then moved to third on an errant pickoff throw to second by sophomore right-hander John Holland. Hood would score from third on an RBI single back through the middle of the drawn-in infield by senior center fielder Calvin Graves (Boston, Mass.).

Felician got back in the game with three runs in the top of the sixth to cut the gap to 4-3. Senior right fielder Jay Collazo took a four-pitch walk leading off and moved to second on a single to left by sophomore first baseman Scott De Jong. Graduate student left fielder Joe Petosa was next and dumped what could have been simply an RBI single into right-center field to drive home Collazo. However, Graves whiffed while attempting to cut the ball off in the gap and it got all the way to the fence in right-center. The two-base error allowed De Jong to score from first and sent Petosa all the way around to third. Petosa scored from there when freshman designated hitter Brennan Price followed and lifted a sacrifice fly to center field.

Franklin Pierce immediately got two of the runs back in the home half of the sixth to create the 6-3 final. Sophomore shortstop Justin Brock (Latham, N.Y.) led off against sophomore left-hander Joe Schultheis and chopped an infield single past the third baseman and deep into the hole at shortstop. Graves followed with a five-pitch walk to push Brock to second and the latter was nearly picked off during LaVorgna's ensuing at-bat. Schultheis caught Brock leaning the wrong way, but the throw to second was not on the bag, which allowed Brock to beat the tag and return to second safely. The Felician dugout saw things differently and, after being warned, head coach Chris Langan was ejected by home plate umpire Stephen Drescher.

With runners still at first and second, LaVorgna went the other way and lifted a deep flyball down the right-field line. Collazo made a long run towards the corner and was able to make the catch, but tumbled to the ground, which allowed both runners to tag and advance. The throw back to the infield was cut by sophomore second baseman Ralph Caccavale, who relayed to second in an attempt to cut down Graves, who had gone halfway to second before retreating to tag on the catch. Caccavale's throw was high and tipped off the glove of leaping senior shortstop Aaron Brill, which allowed Brock to come home to score and Graves to advance to third. Graves then scored on an RBI groundout to short by Razzino.

Leach took the mound for Franklin Pierce in Thursday's first game and threw 122 pitches (77 strikes) over eight innings. He filled up his line in the box score, as he allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits, walked three, hit two batters, balked once and struck out a career-best 14 on the way to the win (5-1). Junior right-hander Doug Willey (Shelburne, N.H.) threw a scoreless ninth with one strikeout around a two-out infield single to notch his Northeast-10-leading 11th save of the season.

Holland threw 113 pitches (80 strikes) over the first five innings for Felician. He allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits, walked three, hit a batter and struck out two while taking the loss (4-4).

Felician opened the scoring in the second game with a run in the top of the first inning. Brill drilled the third pitch of the game the other way into the gap in right-center for a lead-off double. He moved to third on a groundout and scored on an RBI triple into the gap in right-center by Petosa.

Franklin Pierce answered immediately and claimed a 2-1 lead with a pair of runs in the home half of the first. With one out, LaVorgna took a four-pitch walk and stole second, before Razzino worked a seven-pitch walk to put runners at first and second. LaVorgna then got caught taking off from second before the pitcher went to the plate and was put out on the basepaths for the second out. Razzino stole second and then came home to score as Walsh dumped an RBI single the other way into right-center. Walsh moved to second on a five-pitch walk to Dunlap, which spelled the end of the day for Price, who started the second game on the mound for Felician. Graduate student right-hander Billy Rogers took over and was greeted by an RBI single to left by O'Herron, which drove home Walsh.

The next four innings would go without further scoring, as Rogers retired the next nine batters before hitting a batter in the fourth. On the other side of the ledger, Corsi allowed four baserunners after the first inning, though three of them came in the top of the third, when he worked out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam. After escaping the third-inning mess, Corsi retired 12 of the 13 batters he faced over the remaining four innings, including the final 11 batters of the game after a one-out walk in the fourth.

In all, over the course of the seven-inning affair, Corsi allowed one run on just three hits, walked three (one intentionally), struck out three and threw 99 pitches (56 strikes) on the way to the win (3-2).

Price took the loss (0-1) after lasting just two-thirds of an inning. He was ultimately charged with two runs on one hit, walked four and did not record a strikeout. Rogers was effective after taking over, as he threw 4.1 shutout innings, allowed just one hit, did not issue a walk, hit two batters and struck out four.

Franklin Pierce tacked on an unearned insurance run against junior right-hander Matthew Facendo in the bottom of the sixth to create the 3-1 final. With one out, Dunlap took a four-pitch walk and was lifted for junior pinch runner Ryan Boswell (New Bedford, Mass.), who stole second and moved to third on a groundout. Freshman third baseman Jay Jabs (Schwenksville, Pa.) was next and hit a slow roller behind the bag at first, but the ball slipped between the legs of De Jong for an error, which allowed Boswell to come home to score.

The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, April 26, as they remain home for a doubleheader to open a pivotal, three-game, Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division weekend series with first-place Bentley. First pitch is scheduled for noon at Pappas Field. The two teams will wrap up the series with a single game on Sunday, April 27 at 1 p.m.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce baseball apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).