YAPHANK, N.Y. (March 20, 2018) – Junior right-hander Anthony Matarazzo (Medford, Mass.) struck out nine over seven innings without allowing an earned run and graduate student first baseman Mike Coggeshall (Shrewsbury, Mass.) slugged a key fourth-inning home run on Tuesday afternoon to lead the Franklin Pierce University baseball team to a key non-conference road win. Graduate student right-hander Sam Steeves (Dorchester, Mass.) followed with two shutout innings to finish things off as the Ravens downed No. 21/22 nationally ranked St. Thomas Aquinas, 4-2, at Baseball Heaven.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 10-6-1, while St. Thomas Aquinas falls to 12-6. The win also allowed Franklin Pierce to take two out of three meetings on the year from the Spartans, which could potentially serve as a tiebreaker between the two down the road, for purposes of NCAA Championship seeding.

Matarazzo (2-0) was the star of the show on Tuesday, as he fired 101 pitches (69 strikes) over seven innings on the mound. He surrendered two runs (both unearned) on eight scattered hits, walked two, hit a batter and struck out nine -- matching his career high -- on the way to the win. Steeves fanned two without walking a batter and allowed just two hits over two shutout innings to nail down his first collegiate save.

Franklin Pierce backed Matarazzo with two runs in the top of the third and two more in the fourth. In the third, sophomore second baseman J.R. DiSarcina (Barnstable, Mass.) led off with a single and moved to second when senior designated hitter Zack Tower (Auburn, Mass.) followed and dropped down a bunt single. Both runners moved up on a groundout, before junior left fielder Brad Roberto (San Diego, Calif.) cashed in DiSarcina with an RBI groundout on the left side. Tower would then come home to score as senior right fielder Adam Chase (Bridgewater, Mass.) reached on an error by St. Thomas Aquinas senior shortstop Joseph Pena.

In the fourth, senior catcher Stephen Octave (New Windsor, N.Y.) started things off by clubbing a one-out ground-rule double. Coggeshall followed and got in an 0-2 hole, but cranked the third pitch of the at-bat over the fence in right field for his first home run as a Raven.

St. Thomas Aquinas picked up solo unearned runs in both the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings to create the 4-2 final. In the sixth, senior right fielder Giovanni Dingcong reached at second leading off, on an error by Chase in right field. Dingcong then came around to score on an RBI single by senior third baseman Anthony Shkrelja.

In the seventh, Pena got things started with a two-out double, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on an RBI single by sophomore second baseman Nicholas Lucchese. The Spartans would get the tying run to the plate in both the eighth and ninth innings, but would never get said runner on base and could get no closer as the Ravens came away with the two-run victory.

Junior right-hander Chris Cepeda (1-3) started on the mound and threw 84 pitches (62 strikes) over the first six innings on the hill for St. Thomas Aquinas. He was charged with four runs (three earned) on eight hits, did not issue a walk and struck out six while taking the loss. Senior right-hander Chris Pennell (one inning) and junior right-hander Tyler Patane (two innings) combined to strike out six over three shutout innings the rest of the way to keep the Spartans within striking distance.

The Ravens return to the field on Saturday, March 24, when they travel to Adelphi for a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader. First pitch is set for noon at Bonomo Field in Garden City, N.Y.

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).