COLLEGEVILLE, PA -- Ursinus College pitcher Ryan Bown tossed a five hit shutout and designated hitter Jon Sheppard went three-for-three with two runs batted in as the Bears defeated Franklin & Marshall 3-0 in Centennial Conference baseball.
In a pitchers' duel with F&M starter Dave Stahlman (Sr., Topeka, KS/Washburn Rural), Bown struck out eight while walking one and allowing five hits.
The Diplomats (20-16, 11-5 Centennial Conference) appeared primed to take the lead off Bohn in the second inning as Gary Kruger (So., East Islip, NY/East Islip) walked and stole second base with one out. Following a pop-up for the second out of the inning, Kruger advanced to third on a single by Tony Breslau (Sr., Philadelphia, PA/Chestnut Hill) to put runners on the corners. However, Bown induced a ground out by Corey Caruthers (So., Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor) to third base to end the inning and bring up the Bears' bats.
In the bottom of the second, rightfielder Matt Platco led off the inning with a single and scored on a basehit by Sheppard for all Bown would need to record the win.
F&M attempted to get the run back in the top of the third as Dan Hanecak (So., Conestoga, PA/Lancaster Catholic) doubled, but was thrown out attempting to stretch the hit into a triple before Bown retired eight of the next nine batters to go into the bottom of the fifth holding a slim 1-0 lead.
The Bears (17-12-2, 10-6 Centennial Conference) added to the margin in the fifth as catcher Jerry Rogers singled to lead off the inning, advanced to second on a fly-ball by shortstop Tommy Herrmann and scored on a single by leftfielder Eric Shipe for a 2-0 lead.
The Diplomats had a chance to slice the lead in half in the sixth as Chris Smith (So., Fairfax Station, VA/Robinson) singled with one out and moved to second base on a wild pitch. However, Bown got the final two outs off a strikeout and a pop-up to first base to preserve the lead as he retired nine straight batters before Dan Weber (Sr., Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin) singled with two outs in the top of the ninth.
Ursinus finished the scoring in the eighth off F&M reliever EJ Leary (So., Seymour, CT/Seymour) as Platco doubled with one out and moved to third on a basehit by Ted Piotrowicz to put runners on the corners. Sheppard stepped to the plate and sacrificed home Platco for the final run.
On the mound, Stahlman took the loss allowing two runs on nine hits over 6.2 innings with six strikeouts, while Leary gave up two hits, a walk and a run in 1.1 innings with one strikeout.
Franklin & Marshall, which clinched a berth to the Centennial Conference playoffs last week, will continue the season in a doubleheader on April 24th at Centennial Conference foe Dickinson College. Game one is set for 1:00 p.m.
