Box Scores: Game 1 | Game 2 

EPHRATA, Pa. – Franklin & Marshall's baseball team dropped a pair of games against Penn. St.-Harrisburg in the team's season-opening doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. The Diplomats (0-2) fell by a 15-7 score in game one before coming up short by a 6-4 tally in the nightcap at War Memorial Stadium in Ephrata.

Game 1: PSU-Harrisburg 15, F&M 7

F&M shot in front by a 2-0 tally in the top of the first off a Dan Baroff RBI fielder's choice and a Kelsey Launi RBI groundout to second. The Nittany Lions, who were ranked No. 24 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's 2020 Preseason NCAA Division III Poll, responded with two runs on one hit in the bottom of the frame.

After PSU-Harrisburg pulled in front with a sacrifice fly RBI in the bottom of the third, the Diplomats answered with two runs in the sixth to make it a 4-3 game. F&M opened the frame with three straight hits, including a Matthew Kann RBI infield single that plated Max Schwartz from third.

However, the Nittany Lions exploded for 11 runs on just three hits in the bottom of the frame to secure a commanding 14-4 advantage. All of the PSU-Harrisburg runs came with two outs on the scoreboard.

F&M cut into the deficit in the eighth with three runs on three hits, including a two-out RBI single to center field from Kyle Ebert, but was unable to climb any further out of the hole. 

Reigning All-American pitcher Jonathan Cole got the start and tossed five innings, allowing three earned on even hits and striking out seven. Reliever Ryan DeWalt (0-1) was charged with the loss after surrendering five runs, none earned, in the sixth inning. 

Baroff led the offense with a 2-for-4 effort that included two runs scored and an RBI. First baseman Will Samuel also produced a 2-for-4 line with a run scored.

Game 2: PSU-Harrisburg 6, F&M 4 

PSU-Harrisburg's offense kept rolling in game two with an RBI fielder's choice score in the top of the first, before making it 2-0 thanks to a leadoff homer in the top of the second.

Kann made it a 2-1 game in the third when he laced a centerfield single that scored J.J. Freeman from second base. Ebert followed with a two-out double that placed two in scoring position for the Diplomats, but F&M was unable to tack on further after grounding out to first.

The Nittany Lions answered with an infield single RBI in the top of the fifth to expand the advantage to 3-1. In the bottom of the frame, F&M fought back to even the score at 3-3 off of RBI singles from Kann and Samuel.

A solo home run in the top of the sixth put the Nittany Lions back out in front by one and PSU-Harrisburg added on two more in the top of the eighth to make it a 6-3 game. The Diplomats rallied in the bottom of the inning with a leadoff single from Justin Cavegn, followed by a Kevin Lammers double to left-center that placed a pair in scoring position with no outs. 

Freeman grounded out to short, scoring Cavegn from third and making it a two-score game. However, the next two F&M batters went down in order to end the threat.

The Diplomats outhit the Nittany Lions by a 14-10 margin. Freeman led off with a 2-for-5 line with one run scored and an RBI. Kelsey Launi drew a pair of walks while Baroff, Kann, Samuel, Cavegn, and Lammers all tallied two-hit efforts.

Starting pitcher Matt Devlin struck out nine batters in four innings of work, allowing just two earned off five hits and a walk. Kyle Roche (0-1) was dealt the loss in relief after tossing three frames and allowing two earned.