STANDOUT PERFORMERS

• Schwartz – 3-7, 3 RBI, 3 R, 2 HR, 2B, BB
• Freshman Jake Risedorf (Barkhamsted, Conn.) – 4-6, 2 RBI, 2 R, HR, 2B, 2BB
• Junior Danniel Rivera (New Britain, Conn.) – 5-8, RBI, R, HR, 2B, 3/4 SB
• Junior Cam Caraher (Plymouth, Mass.) – 4-7, 3 RBI, 3 R, HR
• Juniors Mike La Rocca (Vero Beach, Fla.) – 4-9, 4 RBI, 2 R, HR, 2 2B
• Freshman Dyrenson Wouters (Oranjestad, Aruba) – 3-8, 2 RBI, R
• Sophomore Anderson Moreno (Bronx, N.Y.) – 3-4, RBI, 4 R, 2B, BB

KEY MOMENTS – GAME 1

• Franklin Pierce scored first in the top of the first on a two-run, opposite-field homer to left-center off the bat of Brian Hadden, snapping Southern New Hampshire's streak of 19 straight games scoring first.
• The Ravens made it 3-0 in the second when what looked to be an inning-ending pop-up to second base was lost in the sun and fell in for an RBI single.
• SNHU had the bases loaded in the home half, but would only push across one run on a fielder's choice groundout by Wouters.
• FPU extended the lead to 4-1 in the third when Joel Lara led off with a solo home run to left.
• The Penmen inched closer in the fourth when Risedorf hammered a solo shot to center.
• Another solo bomb to left from Schwartz in the sixth made it a one-run game, but the Penmen would go in order in the seventh to end it.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE – GAME 1

• Schwartz was 2-for-3 with an RBI, run scored, a home run and a double.
• Rivera finished 2-for-4 with a double and two steals.
• Risedorf went 1-for-2 with an RBI, run scored, home run and a walk.
• Caraher was 1-for-3 and scored a run.
• Senior Jeffrey Praml (Bridgewater, N.J.) went the distance, allowing four runs on six hits, while striking out seven and walking one, over seven innings.

KEY MOMENTS – GAME 2

• Southern New Hampshire took out some aggression early in game one, homering three times in its first four at bats. Rivera led off the bottom of the first with a solo shot to left-center. After Moreno singled up the middle, La Rocca crushed a two-run no-doubter to center, before Schwartz made it back-to-back with his own long-ball to center that gave SNHU a 4-0 advantage before an out was recorded.
• Franklin Pierce took advantage of a defensive mental lapse by the Penmen to score four runs in the top of the third to tie the score, 4-4. A Lara two-out RBI single made it 4-1 before the big blow. With runners at first and second, Schwartz had the runner at first picked off, but as La Rocca ran him down toward second and threw to Rivera, the runner turned back and, with no one covering first, made it back safely to extend the inning. The Ravens made it hurt, using a hit batter to load the bases, before Joseph Pesce lifted a ball to right that fell in for a three-run single when the right fielder stumbled coming in.
• The Penmen went ahead in the home half on a two-out RBI double to right-center from Risedorf.
• Franklin Pierce exploded for seven runs in the top of the sixth, going single-single-single-walk-walk-single-single-single, before the Penmen recorded the first out of the inning on a sacrifice fly to left, which wound up being the first of three straight outs to end the inning.
• SNHU cut into its deficit in the bottom of the frame, as a run-scoring double to left-center by La Rocca, a three-run homer to center off the bat of Caraher and a Wouters RBI single pulled the Penmen within 11-10.
• They tied it in the seventh, with one-out singles from Moreno and La Rocca putting runners at the corners, before Schwartz drove a sac fly to center.
• SNHU snapped the deadlock in the eighth, with RBI doubles from Moreno and La Rocca pushing the Penmen in front, 13-11.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE – GAME 2

• La Rocca went 4-for-6 with four RBI, two runs scored, two doubles and a home run.
• Caraher (three RBI, two runs, home run), Risedorf (RBI, run, double, walk) and Rivera (RBI, run, home run) were all 3-for-4.
• Moreno (RBI, four runs, double, walk) and Wouters (run, RBI) both finished 3-for-5.
• Schwartz (two RBI, two runs, home run, walk) and freshman Kyle Lavigne (Bedford, N.H.; walk) were each 1-for-4.
• Junior Brandon White (Simsbury, Conn.) allowed seven runs on nine hits, while striking out one and walking one, over five-plus innings.
• Junior George Welch (Derry, N.H.) was charged with two runs, as he walked the only two batters he faced.
• Junior Trevor Anibal (Bedford, N.H.) relinquished a pair of runs on seven hits, while punching out six and not walking a batter, over four innings. He earned the win to improve to 3-1.

NOTES

• Southern New Hampshire, ranked 11th in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division II Top 25 and 23rd in the Collegiate Baseball Division II Poll, saw its program-record winning streak – and the nation's longest current winning streak – halted at 24 games. The Penmen have now won 25 of their last 26.
• SNHU finishes the NE10 slate a stellar 23-1 record, with the .958 winning percentage ranking second all-time in the history of the league, which dates back to 1981. Quinnipiac University, which finished 13-0-1 (.964) in 1992, holds the top spot. SNHU in 2017, and Franklin Pierce in 2015 and 2016, all posted a record of 20-1 for a .952 winning mark that is tied for third.
• The Penmen finish the regular season 13-1 (.929) at home and are now 129-28 (.821) at Penmen Field since the beginning of the 2014 season.
• Southern New Hampshire now leads the all-time series with Franklin Pierce, 54-44-1, and has won 22 of the last 26 meetings with the Ravens, including 13 of 17 at home.
• SNHU, which has now scored first in 24 of its last 26 games, had its 19-game streak of scoring first snapped in game one. The Penmen have also scored in the first inning in 10 of their last 14.
• The Penmen had scored more than three runs in 32 straight games prior to game one. The last time they scored fewer was March 6 in a 3-0 loss at East Stroudsburg University.
• Schwartz' two home runs give him 11 on the season and 20 for his career, which ties him for third in the program's all-time record book. He has gone deep in three straight games.
• Risedorf's long-ball was his second in his first season with the Penmen.
• La Rocca, who has now homered in four of the last six games, has 10 on the season and 18 for his career. 
• Caraher, who has gone yard seven times in his last 12 games, also has 10 dingers on the season and 18 in his career.
• Rivera's homer was his seventh of the season and 20th of his career.
• Schwartz continues to lead the NE10 in hitting (.428) and RBI (61), while pulling into a first-place tie in home runs (11).
• Rivera has hit safely in 28 of his last 29, including 21 straight. He has 13 multi-hit games during his current streak.
• Caraher has a hit in 11 of his last 12, including six straight, while Schwartz has hit safely in eight of nine, including five-in-a-row. Lavigne has recorded a hit in nine of his last 10.
• La Rocca has a hit in 17 of his last 20
• The Penmen have now scored 444 runs in 45 games (9.9). That effort already ranks third in the program's single-season record book. The top mark is 494 runs (2016).
• Schwartz, Rivera, Caraher, La Rocca, Praml, Cristian Mercedes (Providence, R.I.), Josh Roberge (Chelmsford, Mass.), Alex George (Hollis, N.H.), Albert Cuello-Batista (Manchester, N.H.) and Zachary Gitschier (Lowell, Mass.) were all honored in a Senior Day ceremony prior to the opener.

UP NEXT

• The Penmen wrap up the regular season Saturday, May 6 with a noon doubleheader at Molloy University. The Tuesday, May 2 doubleheader at the College of Saint Rose has been canceled.