HAMPDEN SYDNEY, VA -- Hampden Sydney College scored two runs in the eighth and one in the ninth to come-from-behind and upend Franklin & Marshall College 5-4. The win is the second straight for the Tigers (4-5) in come-from-behind fashion over the Diplomats as the Tigers knocked off F&M 8-7 in the second game of a double-header on Saturday,
Trailing 4-2 going into the bottom of the ninth inning, Tiger catcher Andrew Welch tied the game with a two-run home run off reliever Todd Cagwin (Jr., Fayetteville, NY/Fayetteville-Manilus) to knot the score up at 4-4 heading into the ninth inning.
After the Diplomats failed to score in the top of the ninth, HSC started the inning off with an off the wall double by Mike Clark. Clark moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Josh Walton and raced to the plate on a game winning single by Morgan Howell.
For Hampden Sydney, John Schoenholtz earned the win allowing three hits in shutting out the Diplomats over the last three innings of action in relief of Nat Palmer who worked six innings, allowing four runs and eight hits.
The Diplomats cracked the scoring column first in the top of the second as Rob Georgiou (Sr., Tappan, NY/Bergen Catholic) doubled home Gary Kruger (So., East Islip, NY/East Islip) before Dan Hanecak (So., Conestoga, PA/Lancaster Catholic) doubled Georgiou to the plate to take a 2-0 lead. The Tigers answered right back with two of their own in the bottom of the inning to knot the score back at 2-2.
Franklin & Marshall would scratch a run across in the fourth and one in the sixth to take a 4-2 lead into the eighth inning.
On the mound, starting pitcher Dave Stahlman (Sr., Topeka, KS/Washburn Rural) went five innings allowing two earned runs on five hits, while striking out four and giving up three walks. Cagwin entered in the sixth inning to throw three complete innings giving up two earned runs on three hits. Reliever Jeff Rowand (Fr., Dallastown, PA/Dallastown) took the loss after allowing one run and two hits in one-third of an inning.
Offensively, Franklin & Marshall College was led by Georgiou and Hanecak who each recorded three hits on the day.
Georgiou went three-for-four with a RBI and two runs scored while Hanecak went three-for-three with a RBI. For the Tigers, Clark and Walton each went two-for-five, while Welch's lone hit of the game gave him a team-high two RBI's.
The win gave the Tigers a 2-1 weekend series victory over Franklin & Marshall as the Tigers erased a five-run deficit in the bottom of the seventh inning to come back and foil the Diplomats in the second game of a Saturday double-header.
The Diplomats (1-2, 0-0 Centennial Conference) will return to action on Friday March 5th when they travel to face Rutgers-Camden at the home of the minor league Camden Riversharks, Campbell's Field. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m.
Franklin & Marshall 0-2-0 1-0-1 0-0-0 -- 4 - 11 - 3
Hampden Sydney 0-2-0 0-0-0 0-2-1 -- 5 - 10 - 1
E - Smith, Kruger, Cagwin, Lilly; LOB - Diplomats 9, Tigers 11; 2B - Georgiou, Hanecak, Clark; HR - Welch; SH - Walton; SB - Kruger, Hanecak, Milavsky, Watts; CS - Hanecak
