Baseball Sports Three First-Teamers Among Six All-Northeast-10 Selections, Has Seven Honored by Conference
Ravens open postseason Wednesday afternoon vs. Stonehill
Full All-Northeast-10 Conference selections
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Walsh, who earned his second career All-Northeast-10 First-Team
selection, highlights six All-Conference selections for the
Ravens.RINDGE, N.H. (May 6, 2013) – Junior catcher Matt Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.), senior center fielder Calvin Graves (Boston, Mass.) and junior right-hander Conor Gleason (North Stonington, Conn.) of the No. 21 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team have all been named to the All-Northeast-10 Conference First Team, as announced Wednesday by the Conference office. The trio headlines six All-Conference selections for Franklin Pierce, which had a total of seven players honored with end-of-the-season Conference awards.
After the three First-Team selections, freshman second baseman Kyle Hood (Arlington, Mass.) and junior right-hander Brendan O'Rourke (Shrewsbury, Mass.) were both named to the All-Northeast-10 Second Team. Junior right fielder John Razzino (Cranston, R.I.) rounded out the All-Conference selections by landing on the All-Northeast-10 Third Team. Hood and freshman left fielder Chris LaVorgna (North Haven, Conn.) were both all named to the Northeast-10 All-Rookie Team.
Franklin Pierce is one of only three teams to put three players on the First Team, as the Ravens were joined by Southern New Hampshire and Southern Connecticut State. The six total All-Conference selections was bettered by only two teams in the 16-school Northeast-10, as SNHU had 10 honorees and New Haven seven, while SCSU matched Franklin Pierce with six.
Walsh, previously an All-Northeast-10 First Team selection as a freshman in 2012 en route to consensus All-Region accolades, returned to the All-Conference level with a slash line which sits at .302/.368/.487 through 189 at-bats while starting all 50 games for the Ravens, including 45 starts behind the plate. Through the end of the regular season, he is tied for first in the Northeast-10 in runs batted in (40), tied for second in home runs (7), tied for fourth in runs scored (39), tied for fifth in doubles (12), tied for sixth in hits (57) and is ranked ninth in slugging percentage. He has added one triple, 11 walks and five stolen bases in seven attempts.
Graves also earns his second career All-Conference selection, as he landed on the Second Team as a sophomore in 2012. He has started all 50 games for the Ravens, including 49 starts in center field, after starting all 56 contests a year ago. Graves currently sports a .328/.392/.394 slash line out of the leadoff hole for Franklin Pierce and, through May 4, ranks 17th in the country in stolen bases (30) and 27th in stolen bases per game (0.61). Among Northeast-10 leaders, through the end of the regular season, he ranks third in hits (65) and stolen bases (32-for-40, 80%), is tied for sixth in runs scored (38), ranks 12th in batting average and ranks 23rd in on-base percentage. Graves hit his first collegiate home run, in the 178th game of his career, on April 12 against Merrimack.
Gleason, who started the season in the bullpen, has pitched at a level which could have -- had it occurred for the full season -- been worthy of Northeast-10 Pitcher of the Year consideration since moving into the rotation at the start of April. Even with fewer innings as a result of the bullpen stint, Gleason is among national leaders in several categories through May 4, as he leads the country in hits allowed per nine innings (3.54), ranks second in strikeouts per nine innings (13.34), ranks 20th in strikeouts (83) and ranks 26th in WHIP (0.96). Despite ranking 22nd in the Northeast-10 (through the regular season) in innings pitched (56.0), he is tied for the league lead in strikeouts, leads the Northeast-10 in strikeouts per nine innings and ranks eighth in ERA (2.09). He has allowed 15 runs (13 earned) on 22 hits and 35 walks.
Hood has played in 45 games for the Ravens, primarily at second base, and finished the regular season with a .294/.391/.360 slash line over 136 at-bats. He is currently tied for 19th in the Northeast-10 in runs batted in (26) and ranks 24th in on-base percentage. Hood has hit five doubles and two triples, scored 19 runs and stolen nine bases in 13 attempts.
O'Rourke appears to have found his stride as a starting pitching in 2014 and earns his first All-Conference selection in his second year with the Ravens. Through May 4, he ranks 12th in the nation in hits allowed per nine innings (5.71), 26th in WHIP (0.96) and 30th in strikeouts per nine innings (10.34). Among Northeast-10 hurlers, through the end of the regular season, he ranks fourth in strikeouts (73), fifth in strikeouts per nine innings, 12th in innings pitched (62.2) and 13th in ERA (2.44). He has allowed 18 runs (17 earned) on 39 hits and 21 walks.
Razzino has also enjoyed a breakout season in 2014 and, as with O'Rourke, earns his first All-Northeast-10 selection in his second year in crimson and grey. He has played in 49 of 50 games on the season, missing only the regular-season finale on Monday, and has put together a .269/.340/.376 slash line through 186 at-bats. Razzino broke the program's single-season stolen base record in just the 32nd game of the season and, through May 4, ranks third in the nation in stolen bases (45-for-53, 84.9%) and sixth in stolen bases per game (0.92). He currently ranks second in the Northeast-10 in stolen bases, is tied for fourth in runs batted in (34), is tied for sixth in runs scored (38), is tied for 10th in home runs (4), is tied for 13th in walks (22) and is tied for 17th in hits (50).
LaVorgna has started all 50 games in left field for the Ravens and assembled a .290/.340/.393 slash line en route to All-Rookie Team honors. Through the end of the regular season, he is ranked fifth in the Northeast-10 in stolen bases (26-for-32, 81.3%), tied for seventh in triples (3), tied for 12th in hits (53), tied for 16th in doubles (10) and tied for 23rd in runs scored (28) and runs batted in (25).
The Northeast Division champion Ravens (35-15) give the ball to Gleason later this afternoon, when they open pursuit of their record-tying fifth Northeast-10 Championship title with a Northeast Division first-round contest. Second-seeded Franklin Pierce will host third-seeded Stonehill at 4 p.m. at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field in Rindge.
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).