Box Score Box Score
YORK, Pa. – Reliever Andrew Mascis tossed three shutout frames to record his 16th career save, taking over sole possession of the Centennial Conference's (CC) record and leading Franklin & Marshall baseball to a 5-1 win over York on Tuesday.
The Diplomats claimed their first win of the 2018 season and improved to 1-1-1 on the year, while the Spartans fell to 3-4.
York's batters struggled to make contact throughout the contest as starter Jack Buckley and Mascis combined to garner 11 strikeouts and hold the Spartans to just four hits. Buckley (1-0) went 5 2/3 innings, surrendering one earned and striking out six.
Mascis entered in the bottom of the sixth and rolled from there, striking out five batters in 3 1/3 frames without giving up a hit. His save moved him past Haverford's Charlie Carluccio who set the career mark in 2011. The Diplomats' senior set the single-season record in 2015, when he registered nine as a freshman.
F&M's bats produced timely hits throughout the game, including in the first inning when right fielder Matthew Kann scored Kengo Kawahara from third with a two-out single. The 1-0 edge held until the fourth with J.J. Freeman jump starting another two-out rally, singling home Danny Blugis from second. Freeman stole second and crossed the plate himself off a Dan Marano single to centerfield to give F&M a 3-0 lead.
Freeman continued his hitting spree in the top of the sixth, sending a two-run homer to right field that scored Kawahara and gave the Diplomats a commanding 5-0 advantage.
The Spartans finally struck in the bottom of the frame with a pair of doubles that plated one runner and cut the deficit to four. However, Mascis entered out of the bullpen and put a batter down swinging to end the threat.
Freeman paced the offense with a 3-for-5 effort, to go along with three RBIs and two runs scored. Left fielder Kelsey Launi also notched three of the Diplomats' 13 hits with a 3-for-5 showing, while lead-off hitter Kawahara went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Kann also collected multiple hits, going 2-for-4 from the cleanup spot with one RBI and a walk.
F&M opens its Florida spring break trip on Sunday when the Diplomats battle William Patterson in a doubleheader that begins at 2:30 p.m.
