Stonehill Runs Into Tough Pitching In Two Losses To No. 26 Franklin Pierce


Senior Dan Fratus accounted for two of Stonehill's five hits today, as he went 2-for-3 in the opener with a pair of singles and a walk.

Skyhawks struggle to generate offense, scoring just one run on five hits in two games

RINDGE, N.H. (March 29, 2014) – The Stonehill College baseball team fell victim to a pair of dominant pitching performances as No. 26 Franklin Pierce University won both ends of today's doubleheader in Northeast-10 Northeast Divisional action at Pappas Field. Stonehill dropped the opener, 6-1, before falling in the second game by a 4-0 final. The Skyhawks batted second and served as the home team in both games, as they were originally scheduled to be played at Lou Gorman Field.

Franklin Pierce's two starting pitchers went a combined 16.2 of a possible 18 innings today, allowing just one run on five hits. Senior Joe Flynn (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) earned the win in the opener after lasting 8.2 innings, allowing just four hits and one run while racking up 11 strikeouts and walking two. Junior Brendan O'Rourke (Shrewsbury, Mass./Santa Fe College) took the ball in game two and posted an even more impressive effort, as he went eight innings allowing just one hit to go with ten strikeouts and no walks.

Junior John Razzino (Cranston, R.I./CC of Rhode Island) went 1-for-4 in the first contest and registered the biggest hit of the game, a bases-clearing triple that ended up being the difference. Freshman Kyle Hood (Arlington, Mass./Arlington) picked up three hits and one RBI in the opener, while  classmate Chris LaVorgna (North Haven, Conn./Tulane Univ.) paced the Raven offense in game two, as he went 2-for-4 with three RBI.

Junior Neal Horan (Mashpee, Mass./BC High) started for Stonehill in the first game, and he cruised through the first five innings before leaving the game due to injury. Horan gave up just two hits to go with four strikeouts and two walks. Senior Zack Soulier (Milford, Conn./Jonathan Law) took his first loss of the season in game two, despite going 8.2 innings and allowing just two earned runs on five hits. Soulier retired 13 consecutive Ravens batters from the fourth inning through the eighth inning before Razzino reached on an error to lead off the ninth.

Senior Dan Fratus (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) accounted for two of Stonehill's five hits on the day, as he went 2-for-3 in the opener. Junior Christian Baglini (Milford, Conn./Notre Dame) and sophomore Chris Hoyt (Walpole, Mass./Xaverian Brothers) each went 1-for-4 in the first game, while classmate Brian Campbell (Franklin, Mass./Mount Saint Charles) recorded Stonehill's lone hit in game two.

Franklin Pierce 6, Stonehill 1

Franklin Pierce utilized a four-run sixth inning and a two-run seventh to take game one. Through the first five innings, Horan limited the Ravens to two hits before leaving the game with an injury. Junior Armand Rugel (Middletown, R.I./Middletown) took over for Horan and was touched up for the first time this season, as he gave up four runs on three hits in his only inning of work. Entering today's action, Rugel had yet to allow an earned run in 16.2 innings, while nailing down a team-best four saves.

After Lavorgna led off the sixth with a ground out, Hood singled and sophomore Justin Brock (Latham, N.Y./Albany Academy) followed with another single to put runners on first and second with one down. Rugel walked the next batter to load the bases before Razzino delivered an RBI triple to the gap in left center field to give the Ravens a 3-0 lead. Razzino would score on the next play, as freshman Jay Jabs (Schwenksville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) hit a sacrifice fly to right field, upping Franklin Pierce's lead to 4-0.

The Ravens scored two more times in the seventh, and Flynn kept Stonehill off the board until the ninth inning. Campbell led off the frame with a walk before advancing to second on a throwing error by Flynn. After a pair of outs, Campbell scored on a passed ball, giving the Skyhawks their first and only run of the contest.


Senior Zack Soulier took his first loss of the season in game two despite giving up just two earned runs in 8.2 innings. At one point, Soulier retired 13 consecutive Ravens.

Franklin Pierce 4, Stonehill 0

Like the opener, the second game shaped up to be a pitcher's duel, this time between Soulier and O'Rourke. After three scoreless frames, the Ravens got to Soulier for two runs in the fourth inning.

Senior Calvin Graves (Boston, Mass./West Roxbury) led off the frame with a single, and he advanced to second on the next play as Razzino grounded out. Jabs came up next and drove in the game's first run with a single through the right side of the infield. After the next two batters flied out and walked, LaVorgna gave Franklin Pierce a 2-0 lead with an RBI single to center field.

Stonehill was unable to put any offense together for the remainder of the contest. After Campbell singled in the fourth inning, the next 17 Skyhawks were retired in order. Franklin Pierce pitchers faced the minimum of 27 Stonehill batters in the game. The Ravens added a pair of insurance runs in the ninth inning, spelling the end of Soulier's outing.

Stonehill (13-9, 3-2 NE-10) will be back in action on Tuesday with a 3:30 p.m. contest against NE-10 rival Bentley University at Lou Gorman Field. Franklin Pierce (18-10, 5-3 NE-10) will play Tuesday afternoon as well, as the Ravens are slated to host Southern New Hampshire University.

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