LANCASTER, PA - The York College Spartans used pairs of runs in the first and second innings to take the lead and defeat Franklin & Marshall College 9-4 in non-conference baseball action at Caplan Field.

The Spartans jumped on the board in the first inning as Jeff Young led the game off with a walk then advanced to second on a Mike Welch ground out to first. Young moved to third and scored on wild pitches to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead. The lead grew to 2-0 as Ashley Swope slugged a solo home run after Welch scored.

York added two in the second inning, three in the fifth and two in the sixth inning for a 9-0 lead before the Diplomats answered back.

In the sixth, Josh Welk (So., Strasburg, PA/Lancaster Christian) walked to lead off the inning, Jon Compitello (Jr., Yardley, PA/George School) walked before Eric Milavsky (Jr., Medford, NJ/Shawnee) loaded the bases with a single. Gary Kruger (Jr., East Islip, NJ/East Islip) was hit by a pitch to force in Welk and Compitello scored as Andrew Hylan (Sr., Norristown, PA/Penn Charter) grounded out to first to cut the Spartans lead to 9-2.

The Diplomats sliced the lead to 9-4 in the ninth as pinch hitter Justin Mathews (Fr., Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) hit a two run single for the 9-4 final.

Franklin & Marshall (17-13, 10-3 Centennial Conference) will return to action on April 22 at Swarthmore College. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m.