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Game Notes
LANCASTER, Pa. – Franklin & Marshall baseball looks to make some noise in its 2022 campaign, backed by returning senior arms and young, but seasoned bats. They'll look to return to the Centennial Conference (CC) Tournament for the first time since 2019.
The regular season opens on Saturday with a double-header against Guilford slated to begin at noon.
2022 Diplomats
The Diplomats went 10-5 in a condensed 2021 season that featured only conference opponents on weekends. F&M won its first five games of the season, including an opening day sweep of then No. 10 Johns Hopkins.
F&M was helped by the weekend only slate of games, able to toss D3baseball Second Team All-America selection and CC Pitcher of the Year Kyle Roche every weekend. Roche won all seven of his starts, putting up a 1.00 ERA, striking out 54 in 45 innings of work.
The Diplomats will need to account for the loss of a handful of key seniors to graduation, most notably reigning CC Player of the Year and Co-Gold Glove of the Year J.J. Freeman. OF Don DiLoreto, OF Matthew Kann, and C Dan Baroff also leave holes in the lineup. Lefty SP Matt Devlin will also need replacing after starting seven games last year, finishing with 41 strikeouts in just 34.2 innings of work.
A mix of nine new first-year players will be welcomed into the fold, with several expected to vie for significant playing time.
Top Returners (2021 Stats)
Will Samuel | Sr. | 1B | .351, 4 2Bs, 1 3Bs, 1 HR, 12 RBIs, 4 SBs
Tommy Denlinger | Jr. | IF | .226, 4 2Bs, 6 RBIs, 2 SBs
Jakob Hoffman | Sr. | IF/RHP | .333, 2 2Bs, 3 3Bs, 1 HR, 6 RBI
Matt Gluck | So. | IF | .231, 10 runs, 2 SBs
Bobby Falese | So. | IF | .220, 3 2B, 1 3B
Pat Elliott | Jr. | OF | .194, 2 2B
Steven Rizzo | Jr. | OF | .227, 1 2B, 1 HR
Michael Cole | Sr. | C | .241
Returners include All-CC Second Team selection Will Samuel holding down first base and All-CC Honorable Mention pick Jakob Hoffman pulling double-duty as an infielder/pitcher. Samuel finished eighth in the conference with his .351 batting average - hitting in 13 of his 14 starts. Hoffman had a hit in his first four games, including smacking one over the fence in his first career at-bat. Denlinger and Gluck saw time in all 15 games, combining for 24 hits and 19 runs.
Top Returners (Starting Pitchers)
Kyle Roche | Sr. | RHP | 7-0, 1.00 ERA, 7 starts, 45 IP, 54 Ks, 7 BBs
Chris Sazone | Jr. | LHP | 0-0, 7.59 ERA, 1 start, 4 APPs, 10.2 IP, 16 Ks
Top Returners (Bullpen)
Stephen Turzai | Sr. | RHP | 4 saves, 1.23 ERA, 7.1 IP, 7 Ks
Thomas McLaughlin | So. | RHP | 7 APPs, 4.32 ERA
Greg Nieskens | So. | LHP | 8 APPs, 0.00 ERA, 8 IP, 9 Ks
Charlie Wright | Sr. | RHP | 5 APPs, 5.63 ERA
Brooks Rush | Jr. | RHP | 5 APPs, 10.13 ERA
Milestones to Watch
Kyle Roche currently sits just outside the F&M Top Ten in career ERA with a 3.07 mark, while ranking 4th in K/9 (9.11).
Centennial Preseason Poll
F&M was picked second in the 2022 Centennial Conference preseason poll, receiving 65 points. Johns Hopkins collected nine first-place votes to be selected first with 81 points.
To view the complete poll, click here.
The Road Ahead
F&M starts off its season with a trip to Virginia to face Guilford twice on Saturday, Feb. 26, then Roanoke for a single game the next day. F&M will come back to Pennsylvania, albeit on the road for non-conference games against Lebanon Valley and Scranton, before traveling to Florida. The home opener is currently slated for Thursday, Mar. 24 against Lancaster Bible. The Diplomats begin their CC schedule with a twinbill against McDaniel on Saturday, Apr. 2. The CC Tournament is currently slated for May 5, 7, and 8.
Follow Along (Social Media)
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