RINDGE, N.H. – Top seed and tournament host Franklin Pierce University scored three-plus runs in five consecutive innings to earn an 18-0 victory over visiting No. 4 seed Felician University during a winners' bracket game in the 2016 NCAA Division II East Regional Championship Tournament on Friday evening at Dr. Pappas Field.

Franklin Pierce (46-6), an at-large selection from the Northeast-10 Conference, is ranked No. 3 in the most recent national NCAA D-II writers' poll.

Felician (34-20), the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference champion, next plays on Saturday at 11 a.m., when it takes on No. 8 nationally-ranked Southern New Hampshire University (46-6) in an elimination game of the seven-team, double-elimination event.

After plating a run in the bottom of the first, the Ravens opened up the game with three runs each in the second, third, and fourth frames, chasing Golden Falcon starting pitcher Jason Polgano (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) (7-2). Felician was charged with five errors in the contest, and only five of the 10 runs on Polgano's line were earned.

FPU battered the Felician bullpen for four runs in the fifth and four more in the sixth for the final margin. The Ravens finished with 18 hits, including nine for extra bases.

Five Raven pitchers combined on a four-hit shutout. Starter Paul Covelle (Medford, Mass./Malden Catholic) (10-1) worked 5 1/3 innings for the victory, allowing three hits and no walks while striking out seven batters.

Max DiTondo (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield), Stephen Octave (New Windsor, N.Y./Trinity-Pawling) and Kyle Hood (Arlington, Mass./Arlington) homered for FPU. Octave scored four runs and drove in four, and Hood and Justin Brock (Latham, N.Y./Albany Academy) had three hits apiece. Regional regular-seaosn player of the year Jay Jabs (Schewnksville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) had four RBI.

Junior Ronnie Grant (Burlington, N.J./Burlington Township) had a double for Felician, which was shut out for the first time this season.