RINDGE, N.H. (5/6/23) – After dropping the Saturday twin bill opener to the American International College Yellow Jackets, 11-6, the Franklin Pierce baseball team returned fire with a 10-3 victory to earn the split in Northeast-10 action at Pappas Field.

The Ravens move to 29-15 (16-7 NE10) following the day's events, while AIC slides to 23-22 (13-10 NE10) overall.

GAME #1

It would be a hot start for both squads in the first inning, as the Yellow Jackets kicked off the scoring with an RBI double by Jackson Haker, scoring Kiernan Caffrey for the early 1-0 lead. In the bottom half of the frame, Pierce would respond with a two-run homer from senior outfielder Joel Lara (Boston, Mass.), which also brought home junior shortstop Ian Battipaglia (Cheshire, Conn.) to flip the one-run lead in favor of the Ravens at 2-1.  

However, things would quickly unravel for the Ravens over the course of the third, fourth and fifth innings as AIC combined for 10 runs scored to take an 11-2 lead.  It all started in the top of the third when Brandon Gaul scored an RBI after getting hit by a pitch, which then was followed up by a Chad Lavelle ground-rule double to right center field, scoring Josh Frometa and Brendan Edvardsen. In the top of the fourth inning, Brendan Edvardsen returned to the plate for a three-run homer, stretching the visitor lead out to 7-2. The offensive onslaught continued in the fifth inning thanks to a Brendan Edvardsen triple that brought home former Raven Ryan Lavelle, along with Yeudy Ramirez and Richie Segura. To cap it off, Josh Frometa connected for an RBI single to then score Edvardsen, giving the Yellow Jackets their 11^th run of the game. 

The Ravens responded to the Yellow Jackets' hot bats with some runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth, but would prove ineffective against the landslide of AIC runs. Ian Battipaglia drove in an RBI single to right-center field to score Jake Miller (Waltham, Mass.) right before senior outfielder Joe Pesce hit a sacrifice fly-out to score freshman Thomas Dillon (Sudbury, Mass.).

Jumping ahead to the bottom of the seventh, the Ravens were able to collect two more runs in their final appearances at the plate in game one. A sacrifice fly-out by senior catcher Max Gebauer (Guilderland, N.Y.) helped advance sophomore first baseman Jose Savinon (Brooklyn, N.Y.) home, while a ground ball hit by freshman Adam Dadinos (East Hartford, Conn.) allowed him to reach safely on an error by the AIC second baseman, scoring graduate Brian Hadden (Newburyport, Mass.), unearned.

Junior pitcher Chaz Powell (Stamford, Conn.) started the game on the mound for the Ravens and pitched through three innings, allowing seven earned runs with two strikeouts for the loss (4-4)  He picked up the loss for the Ravens, dropping to 4-4 on the season. Sean Foody (Tappan, N.Y.), Stephen Bangs (Stoughton, Mass.), and Tommy Sullivan (Plymouth, Mass.) would come in for relief for the Ravens, giving up a total of four earned runs with Sullivan fanning two AIC batters. 

GAME #2

After the game one setback, the Ravens answered back with a much different effort in game two of the Saturday doubleheader. The bats remained hot early on in the action for both teams, as AIC once more started the scoring on a solo homer to left field by Josh Frometa in the top of the first inning.

However, Pierce would make sure they had some insurance in the bottom of the first this time around, scoring five runs to jump ahead by a 5-1 margin. To open the scoring, the Raven capitalized with two runners in scoring position as Joe Pesce grounded-out to the AIC shortstop, allowing enough time and space for Ian Battipaglia to score from third to tie the game at one. In the next at-bat, Jose Savinon belted a two-run shot to left center field to give the Ravens a 3-1 lead, just prior to Joey Acker (Upton, MA) repeating the feat with a homer to right field, making it 5-1 game.  

In the bottom of the fourth, Ian Battipaglia added another run to the Raven lead with an RBI ground-rule double, scoring Max Gebauer to make it 6-1.  

In the top of the fifth, AIC cut their deficit down to four on a solo homer by Brendan Evardsen. Despite this, the bottom of the fifth tilted the scales back in Pierce's favor as a double down the right-field line by Max Gebauer scored both Joey Acker and Brian Hadden, giving the Ravens a six-run lead. Next, freshman Thomas Dillon reached first on an error by AIC shortstop Yeudy Ramirez, which then allowed Gebauer to scoot home from third base, bringing the score to 9-2 Ravens.

In the sixth inning, Chad Lavelle scored for AIC, making it a 9-3 ball game. The Ravens responded with another run in the bottom of the sixth, as Joe Pesce singled to center field to score senior Joel Lara.   

Franklin Pierce pitcher Hunter Reynolds (Marlborough, Mass.) picked up his seventh win of the season along with his fifth complete game, allowing nine hits and three runs with five strikeouts.

The Ravens and Yellow Jackets will play once more tomorrow (5/7) to conclude the 2023 regular season, with first pitch for Franklin Pierce Senior Day scheduled for Noon.