Ravens host Skyhawks at 4 p.m.

Northeast-10 Championship Central
Northeast-10 Championship program 

RINDGE, N.H. (May 6, 2013) – The Northeast Division co-champion and second-seeded Franklin Pierce University baseball team will open pursuit of its record-tying fifth Northeast-10 Conference Championship title on Wednesday afternoon, when it hosts third-seeded Stonehill at 4 p.m. at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field in a first-round contest.

In Tuesday's other Northeast Division tilt, top seed and fellow co-champion Southern New Hampshire (35-12, 20-7 Northeast-10, 15-6 Northeast Division) hosts fourth-seeded Bentley (22-17, 17-10 Northeast-10, 13-8 Northeast Division) at 6 p.m. at Penmen Field in Manchester, N.H. Meanwhile, in the Southwest Division, top seed Southern Connecticut State (24-14-1, 18-8 Northeast-10, 13-5 Southwest Division) hosts fourth-seeded Adelphi (21-21, 14-12 Northeast-10, 9-9 Southwest Division) at The Ballpark at SCSU at 3:30 p.m. and second-seeded New Haven (22-11, 17-9 Northeast-10, 12-6 Southwest Division) hosts third-seeded Le Moyne (19-22, 13-9 Northeast-10, 10-8 Southwest Division) at Frank Vieira Field, both at 2 p.m.

The first round is single-elimination, with the four winners advancing to the four-team, double-elimination portion of the tournament, scheduled for Friday through Sunday, May 9-11. If Southern New Hampshire defeats Bentley, it will host the double-elimination part of the Championship, as the highest advancing seed in the Northeast Division. If the Penmen lose and Franklin Pierce wins, the Ravens will host. If both lose, hosting duties would fall to third-seeded Stonehill. Next season, the highest advancing seed in the Southwest Division will host the weekend.

The two divisions will cross over before the double-elimination segment of the tournament. The winner of the Franklin Pierce/Stonehill game will square off with the winner of the SCSU/Adelphi game.

Ticket prices for the first round of the Championship, as well as each day during the double-elimination portion, will be $6 for adults, $4 for seniors and children, and $1 for students from Northeast-10 institutions (with a valid ID). For Wednesday, Franklin Pierce students will be admitted free of charge (with a valid ID), courtesy of the Department of Athletics. Wednesday's game will also feature a live audio webcast, available online at http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/RavensSportsNetwork, as well as over the air in the Rindge area on 105.3 FM WFPC-LP.

Franklin Pierce (35-15, 20-7 Northeast-10, 15-6 Northeast Division) is a four-time Northeast-10 champion (2009, 2008, 2007, 2005) and will look to become only the third school in conference history to claim five titles. Springfield collected five titles (1986, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994) before reclassifying to Division III, while Massachusetts Lowell took home five titles in a span of six years last decade (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006), before reclassifying to Division I. Last year's Northeast-10 Championship was the first time since 2006 the Ravens failed to advance to the final round of the tournament, and the program has appeared in the final eight times overall (4-4). Franklin Pierce was eliminated by Merrimack in a first-round game a year ago.

Stonehill (28-18, 17-10 Northeast-10, 13-8 Northeast Division) last captured the Northeast-10 title in 2010 -- at the expense of the Ravens in the final -- and is a three-time champion, having previously won in 2000 and 1985. In all, Stonehill has made five trips to the final (3-2). The Skyhawks last qualified for the Northeast-10 Championship in 2012, when they dropped a 6-0, first-round decision to Franklin Pierce at Pappas Field.

That 2012 first-round affair is the most recent of eight meetings between the two teams in the Northeast-10 Championship, with Franklin Pierce holding a 6-2 edge. In the first round in 2012, Jack Crawford spun a four-hit shutout while James Roche clubbed a pair of home runs as the Ravens got the better of then-freshman right-hander Jim Duff, who will take the ball again on Wednesday afternoon for the Skyhawks, now in his junior campaign. Franklin Pierce also posted a win over Stonehill in the first round of the 2011 Championship, 3-2, behind an RBI ground-rule double by then-freshman Zach Mathieu in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Stonehill got the better of Franklin Pierce twice in the 2010 Northeast-10 Championship at Pappas Field, as the Skyhawks claimed their most recent conference title. On the second day of the tournament -- then a six-team, double-elimination affair -- Angelo Bruno and Ryan Healey hit back-to-back home runs leading off the eighth inning to balloon a 3-1 lead into the eventual 5-1 final, while Jose Macias fanned nine over seven innings in defeat for Franklin Pierce. The two teams locked horns again in the title game two days later, with Stonehill prevailing, 5-4, in 10 innings, after Bruno struck again, this time for an RBI double in the top of the 10th. The Ravens provided the postscript the next week however, as they shutout Stonehill twice at historic Yale Field in West Haven, Conn., en route to their 2010 NCAA East Regional title.

The two sides also met twice each in the 2005 and 2003 editions of the Northeast-10 Championship. Franklin Pierce took all four contests, all at LeLacheur Park in Lowell, Mass.

Franklin Pierce took two out of three from the Skyhawks during the regular season in 2014, as a series which was originally scheduled to be played at Stonehill was relocated to Pappas Field on March 28-29. Stonehill took the opener on March 28, behind a complete-game, four-hit, eight-strikeout effort from Duff. Junior right-hander Conor Gleason (North Stonington, Conn.) -- who will take the ball on Wednesday for the Ravens -- took over out of the bullpen in the first inning and piled up 13 strikeouts over 6.1 shutout, three-hit innings to keep the Ravens in the game, though the offense never came around. The bats took care of business the next day, plating 10 runs en route to a doubleheader sweep which featured 6-1 and 4-0 victories. The story remained the pitching though, as senior right-hander Joe Flynn (Plymouth, Mass.) rang up 11 strikeouts over 8.2 innings of four-hit ball while allowing only one earned run in the first game. Junior right-hander Brendan O'Rourke (Shrewsbury, Mass.) was even less hittable in the second game, as he threw eight shutout innings of one-hit ball, did not issue a walk and struck out 10.

The winner of this week's tournament will earn the Northeast-10's automatic bid into next week's NCAA Championship East Regional, scheduled for May 15-18 at the highest seed which can secure a lighted field. Franklin Pierce is a six-time NCAA Regional champion (2013, 2010, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2003), the defending champion, and last hosted the event in 2011.

Northeast-10 Conference Baseball Championship
(Seeds in parentheses)

Tuesday, May 7
First Round - Single Elimination
Game 1: (SW4) Adelphi at (SW1) Southern Connecticut State - 3:30 p.m.
Game 2: (SW3) Le Moyne at (SW2) New Haven - 2 p.m.
Game 3: (NE4) Bentley at (NE1) Southern New Hampshire - 6 p.m.
Game 4: (NE3) Stonehill at (NE2) Franklin Pierce - 4 p.m.

Remainder of tournament double elimination
Hosted by highest advancing team from Northeast Division
Schedule to vary based on host site
Full schedule available after completion of Wednesday's games

Thursday, May 9 through Saturday, May 11
Game 5: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner
Game 6: Game 2 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner
Game 7: Game 5 Loser vs. Game 6 Loser
Game 8: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner
Game 9: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Loser
Game 10: Game 9 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner
Game 11: Game 10 rematch*
* Game 11 only necessary if Game 9 Winner wins Game 10.

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).