RINDGE, N.H. - The Saint Michael's College baseball team split a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader on Tuesday, defeating Assumption University, 8-3, and losing to Franklin Pierce University, 10-2, at Franklin Pierce's Pappas Field. The Ravens received votes towards this week's American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) national poll and were ranked ninth in the most recent National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) East Region Poll.
 
DOUBLEHEADER FACTS

• Sophomore Keegan Burke (Amherst, N.H./Souhegan) struck out 13 batters in game one, the most by a Purple Knight since Dylan Lavery '17 struck out 14 against Saint Anselm College on March 25, 2015. Burke's 55 strikeouts this season match the program's third-highest total since the mid-1940s.
• First-year Tad Giardina's (Reading, Mass./Saint Mary's) home run in game one was the team's 19th this year, breaking a 27-year-old program record. Giardina went deep in each contest.
• Junior Evan Balian (Lynnfield, Mass./Lynnfield) ended the day with 99 career hits.
• The game one victory secured the season series win over Assumption, 2-1, the first time the Purple Knights won the season series since sweeping three games from the Greyhounds in 2018. Saint Michael's trails Assumption by three games for the fourth and final NE10 Northeast Division postseason berth with three regular-season contests remaining, all this weekend against Bentley University.
• Junior Max Kolifrath's (Millbury, Mass./Millbury) 11 doubles this season leave him two shy of George Buteau's '15 nine-year-old program mark.

GAME 1
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (10-27, 7-16 NE10), Assumption (16-26, 10-14 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Balian, 1-for-4, 1 BB
• Giardina, 1-for-5, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR
• Kolifrath, 1-for-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 2B
• Senior Matt Sevigny (Rocky Hill, Conn./Rocky Hill), 1-for-2, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 HP
• Junior Terence Moynihan (Stoneham, Mass./Saint Mary's), 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 HP
• Sophomore Sam Cavossa (East Falmouth, Mass./The Winchendon School), 1-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB
• First-year Richard Gilboy (South Portland, Maine/South Portland), 1-for-5, 2 RBI, 1 2B
• First-year Jack Pattison (Vernon, Vt./Vermont Academy), 3-for-5, 1 R, 2 SB
• First-year Dom Tetta (East Northport, N.Y./Northport), 1-for-4, 1 RBI
• Keegan Burke, 8.2 IP, 10 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 13 K, win
• Sophomore Colin Burke (Amherst, N.H./Souhegan), 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K in relief

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Junior Max Lefrancois, 2-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 2B
• Junior Sean Moynihan, 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 2B, 1 HR
• First-year Jamison Howland, 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 SB
• Sophomore Ryan Cloutier, 5.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, loss

THE ACTION

• The Purple Knights took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Terence Moynihan scored on a balk.
• After four scoreless innings from Keegan Burke, the Greyhounds scored in the fifth inning on an RBI double from Lefrancois that brought home Howland.
• Kolifrath doubled down the left field line with one out in the top of the sixth inning to score Cavossa, and Giardina launched a two-run home run to right field with two gone in the inning to make the score 4-1.
• Sean Moynihan hit a solo shot in the home half of the sixth before senior Owen Podolec knocked an RBI double to center field in the seventh inning to cut the Purple and Gold's lead to 4-3.
• Tetta scored Pattison on an RBI single in the eighth inning to make the score 5-3.
• The Purple Knights added three runs in the final frame when Sevigny scored on a passed ball and Gilboy hit a ground-rule double to score Cavossa and Terence Moynihan.
• Keegan Burke recorded the first two outs of the ninth inning then allowed two base runners before giving way to his brother, Colin, who struck out the one batter he faced to lock up the win.

GAME 2
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (10-28, 7-17 NE10), Franklin Pierce (25-13, 18-6 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Giardina, 2-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 HR
• Gilboy, 0-for-2, 2 BB
• Kolifrath, 2-for-4, 1 R
• Sophomore Braedon Jones (Williston, Vt./Champlain Valley Union/UMass Dartmouth), 1.2 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, loss
• Sophomore Matt Safer (Essex, Vt./Essex), 5.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K in relief
• Junior Jack Menard (Tewksbury, Mass./Tabor Academy), 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K in relief

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Graduate student Eli Battipaglia, 1-for-5, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 HR
• Senior Hunter Wilichoski, 2-for-3, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 2B
• Junior Kiobel Lugo, 2-for-2, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 2B, 1 SB, 1 HP
• Sophomore Joey Acker, 2-for-4, 2 R
• Graduate student Chaz Powell, 8 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K, win

THE ACTION

• Eli Battibaglia's three-run homer sparked a seven-run second inning for the Ravens to give the hosts an early lead.
• Lugo and Wilichoski both doubled in the bottom of the fourth inning to drive in runs, and graduate student Christopher Roberti hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh to add to the lead.
• Giardina launched his second home run of the day, a two-run shot to center field, in the ninth inning.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Friday vs. Bentley, 4 p.m.
• The Falcons were ranked sixth in the most recent NCBWA East Region poll.