Baseball: Wilichoski Walk-Off Sends Ravens to the Next Round of NE10 Playoffs
| Final (10) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bentley | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 1 |
|
Franklin Pierce | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 3 |
Recap by Director of Athletic Communications Luke Tracy
RINDGE, NH (5/7/2024) – Knotted at 6-a piece in the bottom of the 10th inning, Franklin Pierce University senior outfielder Hunter Wilichoski (Hamilton, MA) stepped up to the plate with two outs. As he made his way to the dish, freshman Jayden Villianueva (Lowell, MA) jogged to first base to pinch run. The count made its way to 2-2, the crowd growing silent moments before each pitch. On the fifth, Wilichoski connected and the once silent FPU fans rose to their feet and began to cheer. The ball cruised high as its white leather faded the further it went into left field shadows. Finally, it passed the foul pole, and planted into the grass; a thud that marked a walk-off victory over the Bentley Falcons to advance to the next round of the NE10 playoffs.
Score: Franklin Pierce 8, Bentley 6 (10 innings)
Records: Franklin Pierce: 26-16 (18-9, NE10) Bentley 29-19 (15-12, NE10)
Location: Pappas Field, Franklin Pierce University, Rindge, NH
Date: Tuesday, May 7, 2024
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The bottom of the first inning was a laser show for the Ravens after Ian Battipaglia (Cheshire, CT) and Nolan DeAndrade (Bridgewater, MA) both went yard to make it a 3-0 game.
- The Raven and Falcon bullpens served up goose eggs for the second inning but came back to life in the third. In the top of the third, Bentley's Cory Bright reached on a fielder's choice and though the Ravens grabbed the first out of the inning, the play sent Jackson Walonis across home plate cutting the score to 3-1. Two batters later with runners on the corners, Bentley's Ed Beauregard smashed a 3 RBI homer and the Falcons took the 4-3 lead. Later in the bottom of the third, Kio Lugo (Boston, MA) stepped up to the plate with two outs down and Eli Battipaglia (Cheshire, CT) on first. Lugo wasted no time and swung at the first pitch which took a joyride over the outfield fence. The two RBI homer lifted the Ravens to a 5-4 lead.
- In the top of the sixth, Bentley put together a three hit inning to add two more to board and took the 6-5 lead.
- Later in the seventh with the bases juiced, Kio Lugo hit a sacrifice line drive to center field and sent Julien Monks (Pace, France) home for the game tying run.
- During the top of the ninth with two outs down and a runner on first, freshman pitcher Niklas Pavia (Bolton, MA) hit back to back batters and loaded the bases. Braving the pressure, Pavia put together three strikes on four pitches and closed out the inning with no damage done. Keeping the game interesting, the Bentley defense shut down any momentum and tallied three outs on three batters to send the game to the 10th inning.
- The top of the tenth started with a 5-3 followed by another strikeout from Pavia. On the third batter, a dropped third strike landed a runner on first. Again, Pavia shook off the nerves and struck out the following batter to close out the top of the 10th.
- In the bottom of the 10th, with two outs, two strikes, and Jayden Vilanueva on first base, Hunter Wilichoski sent a ball over the left field fence to secure the walk-off home run.
NEXT FOR THE RAVENS: The Franklin Pierce University baseball team now advances to the next round of the NE10 playoffs. Game locations, times, and other tournament details will be released Wednesday morning.