Junior Chris Hoyt went 3-for-7 at the plate with a walk and one RBI today, but Stonehill dropped two games at No. 5 Franklin Pierce.

Junior Chris Hoyt leads Skyhawks with 3-for-7 effort at the plate

RINDGE, N.H. (April 4, 2015) – The Franklin Pierce University baseball team, ranked No. 5 in this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division II Poll, dealt Stonehill College a pair of defeats today in Northeast-10 Conference Northeast Division action at Pappas Field.

Franklin Pierce recorded ten hits and benefited from four Stonehill errors to earn a 15-2 victory in the opener, before posting a 5-0 triumph in game two to complete the three-game sweep.

Junior outfielder Chris Hoyt (Walpole, Massachusetts/Xaverian Brothers) led the Skyhawks at the plate, going 3-for-7 with a walk and one RBI. Senior catcher Eric Schneider (Camarillo, California/Saint Bonaventure) went 2-for-6 with a double, while junior designated hitter Brian Hocking (Duxbury, Massachusetts/BC High) doubled, hit his second home run of the season and scored two runs. Senior shortstop Dan Fratus (Plymouth, Massachusetts/Plymouth North) and sophomores Ben Monte (New Haven, Connecticut/Guilford) and Eddie Bowler (Hingham, Massachusetts/Hingham) added one hit each for Stonehill.

Sophomore outfielder Jay Jabs (Schwenksville, Pennsylvania/Perkiomen Valley) paced a Franklin Pierce offense that piled up 20 runs on 19 hits over the two games with a 4-for-9 effort at the plate, including a double, two home runs, and three RBI to go with four runs scored. Junior first baseman Matthew O'Herron (Springfield, Massachusetts/Cathedral) went 3-for-7 with a homer and three runs, while sophomore outfielder Chris LaVorgna (North Haven, Connecticut/Tulane University) added three singles, two RBI, and two runs.

Franklin Pierce 15, Stonehill 2

Senior righthander Brendan O'Rourke (Shrewsbury, Massachusetts/Santa Fe College) took the ball in game one for Franklin Pierce and improved to 7-0 on the season after lasting six innings and allowing just one unearned run on four hits while striking out five and walking three.

Stonehill junior Neal Horan (Mashpee, Massachusetts/BC High) dropped to 0-2 with the loss after giving up six runs (four earned) on three hits through four frames.

Franklin Pierce took control early, scoring three times in the bottom of the first despite recording just two hits. Jabs came in to score the game's first run on a wild pitch, O'Herron followed with an RBI single to center field, and LaVorgna delivered an RBI groundout for the Ravens.

Senior John Razzino (Cranston, Rhode Island/CC of Rhode Island) stole home in the third to give Franklin Pierce a 4-0 lead, and the home team tacked on two more runs in the fourth.

Stonehill finally broke through in the fifth, as Hocking doubled down the left field line with two outs before scoring two batters later on an RBI single by Hoyt.

Franklin Pierce continued to roll offensively, plating five runs in the fifth and three in the sixth, while Stonehill got one back in the top of the seventh on Hocking's solo homer to center field. The Ravens capped the scoring in the bottom half of the seventh, as junior Justin Brock (Latham, New York/Albany Academy) hit an inside-the-park home run.

Senior catcher Eric Schneider went 2-for-6 with a double in today's doubleheader.

Franklin Pierce 5, Stonehill 0

Junior righthander Miles Sheehan (Madison, Connecticut/Clark University) posted a dominant effort on the mound to lead Franklin Pierce to victory in game two, as he tossed eight shutout innings, striking out eight and walking just one while allowing four hits.

Sophomore lefty Jeremy Roberts (Reading, Massachusetts/Malden Catholic) took the loss for Stonehill after giving up five runs (two earned) with four strikeouts through five innings. Junior Patrick Nicholson (Middleboro, Massachusetts/Middleboro) did a nice job in relief, striking out three and allowing just one hit over two frames, while freshman Pat Shore (Norwood, Massachusetts/Catholic Memorial) logged a perfect ninth for the Skyhawks.

Franklin Pierce scored in the first inning for the second straight game, as senior Matt Walsh (Plymouth, Massachusetts/Plymouth North) plated Jabs with a two-out single.          The Ravens took a 3-0 lead in the third on Jabs' two-run homer, before tacking on single runs in the fourth and fifth.

Stonehill's best scoring opportunity came in the seventh, when Bowler doubled down the right field line before advancing to third on a single by Schneider, but Hocking struck out swinging to end the inning. The Skyhawks went down in order in the eighth and ninth as Franklin Pierce extended its winning streak to seven games.

Stonehill (15-7-1, 3-3 NE-10) will look to bounce back on Wednesday afternoon at Bentley University, while Franklin Pierce (26-2, 8-1 NE-10) returns to action on Monday night against Saint Michael's College.

For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter and Facebook. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks mobile app on iTunes and the Android Market.