LANCASTER, PA - Franklin & Marshall College closer Pete Maki (Sr., Woodbury, CT/Noonewaug) pitched the ninth inning to record his sixth save of 2004 to tie the Franklin & Marshall College single season record as the Diplomats held off Alvernia College 5-3 in non-conference baseball.
With the save, Maki ties former F&M closer Mark Osowick '89 who recorded six saves during the 1988 season. Overall, Maki is seven saves off the career mark of 13 established by Nate Diercks '02 from 1999 through 2002.
Leading 5-3 in the top of the ninth, Maki walked Eric Bonds with one out before Bonds advanced to second on a balk. Facing Ryan Zimmerman, Maki got the second out of the inning as Zimmerman's ground ball through the left side of the infield hit Bonds in the leg for a fielder's choice on runner's interference. Maki got the final out of the inning as Eric Pettit bounced back to the mound and was thrown out at first as the Diplomats improved to 23-17 on the year.
At the plate, shortstop Chris Smith (So., Fairfax Station, VA/Robinson) hit three-for-four with two runs scored and designated hitter Gary Kruger (So., East Islip, NY/East Islip) went two-for-four with a triple and two runs scored to lead Franklin & Marshall to the victory.
The Diplomats opened the scoring in the bottom of the first as Smith singled through the left side of the infield and advanced to second on a Rob Georgiou (Sr., Tappan, NY/Bergen Catholic) single down the left field. Following a sacrifice fly to center field by Scott Haft (Jr., Jupiter, FL/Jupiter), Smith scored as Dan Weber (Sr., Reading, PA/Governor Mifflin) bounced into a fielder's choice for a 1-0 lead.
Alvernia answered in the third inning as Dan Myers double to the centerfield wall to lead off the inning and scored two batters later on a Pete Jordan double down the right field line. Eric Bonds bunted for a base hit to move Jordan to third base before Zimmeran reached first base on an error by Georgiou at second base to give the Crusaders a 2-1 lead.
F&M knotted the score at 2-2 in the fourth inning as Kruger reached on a two out bunt single and moved to second on a Corey Caruthers (So., Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor) single. One batter later, Kruger scored as third baseman Tony Breslau (Sr., Philadelphia, PA/Chestnut Hill) drove him in with a RBI single.
Franklin & Marshall tacked on two runs in the fifth as Dan Hanecak (So., Conestoga, PA/Lancaster Catholic) reached on an error by Pettit at second base before Smith doubled to put runners in scoring position with no outs. Georgiou lofted a sacrifice fly to centerfield to score Hanecak and Haft grounded out to score Smith for a 4-2 lead.
The lead grew to 5-2 in the sixth as Kruger tripled to leadoff the inning before Caruthers popped up to short and Breslau grounded out to second base. First baseman Gordie Eck (Sr., Columbia, PA/Lancaster Catholic) slugged a pitch over the rightfield fence on the fly which the umpires ruled a ground rule double to score Kruger for the final F&M run.
Alvernia cut into the lead in the seventh off reliever Dave Stahlman (Sr., Topeka, KS/Washburn Rural) as Pete Jordan walked, Bonds bunted for a single and Zimmerman reached on a fielder's choice to put runners on the corners with one out. Pettit flied out to leftfield to score Jordan and close out the scoring as the F&M bullpen closed out the two run win.
On the mound, starter Scott Solomon (Sr., Birmingham, AL/Moutnain Brook) went six innings allowing two runs on four hits and three walks with three strikeouts to earn his sixth win of the year. Stahlman worked the seventh allowing one run on one hit and one walk with one strikeout, while EJ Leary (So., Seymour, CT/Seymour) threw the eighth inning allowing no runs while striking out one before Maki worked the ninth.
Franklin & Marshall (23-17, 12-6 Centennial Conference) will continue the season on May 1 in the Centennial Conference playoffs at Johns Hopkins University. At 11:00 a.m., F&M will face the winner of a Friday first round game between Ursinus and Dickinson for the right to square off with #1 nationally ranked Hopkins in a best of three playoff series. The winner of the playoff series will be crowned 2004 Centennial Conference champions and earn the CC bid to the NCAA Regional Tournament.
