Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 Box Scores: Game 1 | Game 2
SWARTHMORE, Pa. – Franklin & Marshall's baseball team dominated Swarthmore by an 8-1 score in game one of Saturday's Centennial Conference (CC) doubleheader, before falling by a narrow 5-2 tally in the nightcap.
With the pair of decisions, the Diplomats' overall record moved to 17-12-1, 5-4-1 CC on the year while the Garnet now sit at 11-19, 4-6 CC.
David Iacobucci strung together two hits on the day to pull within three of the program's record of 173, a mark that is shared by J.T. Triantos '12 and Gary Kruger '06.
In game one, Swarthmore struck first with a Wesley Fishburn RBI single to right field in the top of the first to take the 1-0 edge. F&M answered with a two-out rally in the fourth with Reed Williams reaching on a single and Jimmy Whelan drawing a walk before Danny Blugis notched a RBI single to right field that tied the game.
The Diplomats took the lead in the next frame when Iacobucci launched a solo homer, the 12th of his career to put him alone in second place in F&M's career record-book and just two shy of the all-time record of 14, held by Scott Haft '05.
A Tyler Daley two-out RBI single in the top of the sixth padded the advantage until F&M put the game away for good with five runs on three hits and an error in the seventh to pull ahead by seven.
Iacobucci led off with a walk, and Kengo Kawahara placed runners on the corners with a double to left field. Justin Cavegn reached on a fielding error to load the bases before a double from Williams plated a pair. Blugis followed later in the frame with a two-RBI single down the left field line, and Cory Hecht rounded out the scoring with a sacrifice fly to left field.
Starter Jonathan Cole (3-2) tossed the first six innings and allowed just one earned to earn the win. Reliever's Mack Glavin, Jason Weinhaus, and Blake Smith combined for three shutout innings. Charles Groppe (1-4) was dealt the loss after 5 2/3 innings of work, allowing three earned on four hits and three walks.
Williams led the charge with a 2-for-4 effort, tallying three runs and picking up two RBIs. Iacobucci produced a 2-for-4 effort with two runs scored and a RBI while Blugis went 2-for-5 with three RBIs.
Game two saw the Diplomats carry over their offensive success from the opener with two runs in the top of the first off a sacrifice fly RBI from Iacobucci and a ground out RBI from Christopher Vincent later in the frame for the 2-0 lead.
The Garnet fought back with a RBI double in the bottom of the inning to pull within one before tallying three runs on five hits in the third to extend the advantage to two. Swarthmore added a key insurance run in the sixth with a RBI double to left field to put away the game for good.
Starting pitcher Mike Androconis (4-2) was dealt the loss after surrendering five earned on 12 hits in six innings. Jonathan Pesantez was strong in relief with two shutout innings. Ryan Warm (2-2) tossed a complete-game shutout to earn the win, allowing just five hits and striking out a pair.
Williams registered three of F&M's five hits from the leadoff spot. Fishburn paced Swarthmore with a 4-for-4 effort as the Garnet recorded 13 total hits.
CC action keeps rolling on Tuesday when the Diplomats host Johns Hopkins for a 3:30 p.m. start.
