By Ezra Gennello, staff writer.

Coming off of a Northeast-10 Conference title in 2019, the Franklin Pierce University baseball team was ready to strike for even more success in 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic cut the campaign short. A big part of the championship team was the class of 2020, who were juniors at the time. The group of 12 players hoped to add another trophy to the mantle in 2020. Unfortunately, but with the 2020 season cancelled the team could not return to the finals, nor could they have their senior day ceremony, which was scheduled to be held prior to Sunday afternoon’s game against Southern New Hampshire.

With the NCAA granting eligibility waivers to affected student-athletes, the program expects the entire senior class to return for the 2021 season next spring. Still, as part of our ongoing Virtual Senior Day series, today we take a look at the baseball team’s senior class.

#5 James Boria

A physical therapy major from Massapequa, N.Y., James Boria spent four years on the team and led the charge as a team captain for his junior and senior seasons. Boria played in the infield for the Ravens and found success in the batter’s box as well. He carried a career batting average of .244 with 103 hits, 17 doubles, three triples and seven home runs though 116 games. Boria was able to find his power during this shortened season with three home runs in 13 games, which already matched his total from a year ago.

Boria says his favorite memory of being at Franklin Pierce was being able to win the 2019 NE10 Championship. In addition, his last two seasons stuck out with the opportunity to be a team captain and build deeper connections with his teammates. Boria plans to return to Rindge next year to play a fifth season of baseball while earning his MBA in healthcare administration.

#6 Dylan Jones

The next senior on the roster is Dylan Jones, a criminal justice major from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Jones spent his four years in Rindge behind the plate for the Ravens as one of the team’s catchers. Jones held a .268 career batting average with 122 hits over 121 games. He also hit eight home runs and drove in 68 runs in a Ravens uniform, and was an NE10 All-Rookie Team selection in his freshman season. Jones was off to a hot start in 2020, with a .310 average, a .385 on-base percentage and a .586 slugging percentage through 15 games.

#9 Carmine Giordano

Carmine Giordano has spent five years at Franklin Pierce studying sports and recreation management, while playing baseball for four of them, as he missed his sophomore season. The New Rochelle, N.Y., native made eight career appearances on the mound, collecting 10 strikeouts in 7.2 innings pitched. In the batter’s box, Giordano collected 12 RBIs in 64 at bats along with a single home run. Giordano was also named to the Northeast-10 Conference Academic Honor Roll four times during his time in Rindge.

#13 Tyler Patane

Another pitcher/infielder combo, Tyler Patane transferred to Franklin Pierce from St. Thomas Aquinas College prior to the 2020 season. He earned All-East Region Second Team and All-East Coast Conference Second Team honors for the Spartans a year ago. Patane made a single appearance on the hill for the Ravens, in which he pitched two innings with a pair of strikeouts. At the plate, through 12 games, he was the team’s leading hitter with a .387 average, to go with a massive .574 on-base percentage and a .677 slugging percentage as well. Patane is studying to earn his MBA in leadership (marketing).

#21 Derek Duffy

Derek Duffy is a right-handed pitcher from Farmington, Conn. Duffy started 15 games for the Ravens in his four seasons with an additional 19 appearances in relief. In 118.1 innings pitched, Duffy posted a 3.04 ERA, while piling up 114 strikeouts against just 15 walks. His strongest season thus far had come last year, when he led the nation in walks per nine innings (0.72) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (13.4) on the way to All-East Region Second Team and All-NE10 Second Team honors.

Duffy will graduate this May with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, and plans to return to Franklin Pierce next year as a grad student to complete his eligibility.

#22 Connor Sahlin

Connor Sahlin transferred to Franklin Pierce from Florence-Darlington Technical College in Florence, S.C. A management major from Litchfield, N.H., Sahlin has battled injury throughout his time at Franklin Pierce. In all, he has made 5 appearances for the Ravens, including four starts. Sahlin has tallied 15 strikeouts in 18.1 career innings.

#25 John Mead

John Mead is a sports media major from Washington Township, N.J. The right-handed outfielder played at Southeastern Community College and Wagner College before making his way to Franklin Pierce for his junior year. In 57 appearances, Mead hit .270 with 51 hits and 27 RBIs in 189 at bats. Mead collected 12 doubles in his time at Franklin Pierce to go along with five career home runs.

#31 Shawn Babineau

A health sciences major from Ashland, Mass., Shawn Babineau came to Franklin Pierce for his senior season after spending three years at Springfield College, where he was an All-Region selection and the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year as a sophomore in 2018. The left-handed pitcher started three games for the Ravens this year, collecting 13 strikeouts through 17.1 innings. Babineau went the distance to defeat St. Thomas Aquinas on March 9 in North Carolina, in what wound up as his final start of the season.

#34 Jonel Ozuna

First baseman Jonel Ozuna joined the Ravens as a junior in 2018 after transferring in from Galveston College, though he would miss much of the 2018 campaign due to injury. The New York, N.Y., native came off the injury and exploded in 2019, with 18 doubles, 43 RBIs, 63 hits, and 22 extra base hits on the way to a .313/.391/.453 slash line. Ozuna finished the 2020 season with a career batting average of .292 and an on-base percentage of .382 through 75 career games.

The plan for Ozuna is to come back to Rindge and win another championship. “Next year is win or win,” he said. “We won’t be satisfied with anything less than a National Championship.” His favorite moment so far at Franklin Pierce was lifting an NE10 Championship trophy in 2019 surrounded by FPU family. “When we won I kind of blacked out, and I remember us being on top of each other in the dog pile.”

#36 Ryan Richardson

Another transfer for the 2020 season, Ryan Richardson came to Franklin Pierce after a stop at Southern Vermont College and is an environmental studies major. The southpaw, from Pasadena, Md., had time to make only one relief appearance on the mound before the season came to an early end.

#43 Matt Michals

A Needham, Mass., native and right-handed relief pitcher, Matt Michals played four seasons of baseball at Franklin Pierce after beginning his time in college at the University of Southern Maine, though he did not play for the Huskies. In 13 career appearances, Michals collected 17.2 innings of work and struck out nine.

Marc Flores-Perez

A catcher and marketing major from Northbridge, Mass., Marc Flores-Perez has yet to see the field for the Ravens. In the classroom, he was named to the NE10 Academic Honor Roll during his sophomore year.

Speaking to the NE10 for the league’s ongoing “Teams of the Week” feature, head coach Mike Chambers had the following to say about his senior class: “Our senior class is a special and an incredibly talented group. All five captains are seniors and every one of them was a contributing, key player in this shortened season. That group is the backbone of what it means to be a Pierce baseball player. Even though our season was cut short, I'm really excited at the opportunity to coach them again.”