RINDGE, N.H. – The Bentley University Falcons started fast with three of the first four batters reaching and scoring, but the Franklin Pierce University Ravens homered four times in the first three innings and went on to a 10-4 victory in the Northeast-10 Baseball Northeast Division semis Thursday at Pappas Field.

In the first, sophomore right fielder Tim Zupkus (Middlebury, Conn./Holy Cross HS) led off the game with a home run to right center, his second of the year. Senior shortstop Nick Halloran (Hopkinton, Mass./Hopkinton HS) followed with a double and scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of graduate DH Ryan Berardino (Sudbury, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury Reg. HS). Later in the inning, an RBI double to left center by freshman second baseman Jackson Walonis (Walpole, Mass./Walpole HS) scored Berardino, making it 3-0.

The Franklin Pierce comeback began in bottom of the first with junior second baseman Randy Flores (Brooklyn, N.Y.) duplicating Zupkus' performance, a lead-off homer to right center.

In the second, a two-run homer by junior center fielder Joel Lara (Boston, Mass.) and a tie-breaking three-run homer by graduate third baseman Tyler Patane (Lake Grove, N.Y.) made it a 6-3 game. The three runs on Patane's were all unearned due to an error on the play before.

The Ravens, who average over ten runs per game, added to their total with single runs in the third and fourth, and two more in the sixth.

The scoring concluded in the eighth when Berardino, a .489 hitter for the season, lined a shot over the left field fence for his third home run and 34th RBI. In two postseason games, he had five hits and seven RBI in eight at bats.

Flores, Patane and graduate Shawn Babineau (Ashland, Mass.) were the standouts for Franklin Pierce. Flores was 4-for-4 with four runs scored and Patane used three hits to drive in five runs.

Babineau, who came on in relief with only one out in the first, allowed only one run in 7.2 innings of work. He allowed only five hits, matching the total Bentley had before he entered the game.

 Bentley's ten hits included two apiece from Halloran, sophomore third baseman Steve Rizzuto (Belmont, Mass./Belmont HS), junior left fielder Liam Sears (Springfield, Mass./Pope Francis HS) and Walonis.

The loss dropped the Falcons to 17-11 overall.