LANCASTER, Pa. -- Franklin & Marshall baseball used the long ball to snag a pair of Centennial Conference (CC) victories against McDaniel, winning a walkoff homer to grab game one by a 6-3 final before holding on for an 8-7 win in game two on Saturday afternoon at Caplan Field. Tommy Denlinger walked off the Diplomats (11-9, 2-0 CC) with a three-run dinger to left in the first game, while Bobby Falese played game two hero against the Green Terror (15-9, 0-2 CC) with his first career grand slam.

F&M has now won five straight CC doubleheader openers, dating back to the 2017 season.

Game 1: F&M 6, McDaniel 3

After both teams went down 1-2-3 in the first inning, McDaniel squeaked out an unearned run on a sacrifice fly for a 1-0 lead. F&M notched a few runners on base in the bottom half, but some crafty pickoffs from the Green Terror starter erased both from first for the final two outs.

While Kyle Roche was dealing to keep things close, F&M solved the McDaniel pitching with a three-run fourth. Back-to-back two-out doubles by Bobby Falese and Patrick Cettina both scored one, then Michael Cole plated a third for a 3-1 lead.

The Green Terror answered with a double and RBI single in the top of the sixth to narrow the margin to 3-2.

F&M used some filthy pitching from Dan Galef to silence bats in the seventh, as the first-year pitcher struck out the side. The Diplomat defense then picked up Galef in the eighth, as a relay from Drew Butera to Tommy Denlinger to Michael Cole nailed a runner at the plate to keep a one run edge.

McDaniel knocked through a two-out single with two runners on, plating one to knot the game at three. Stephen Turzai punched out the final batter to preserve a 3-3 tie going into the bottom of the ninth.

Pinch hitter Jakob Hoffman laced a one-out single down the left field line to put one on, then Patrick Elliott followed with a walk. Tommy Denlinger promptly uncorked one over the left field fence to send the Diplomats into a frenzy with a 6-3 victory.

It was the first walkoff homer for the Diplomats since J.J. Freeman rounded the bases with a grand slam in a 5-3 win over William Paterson back on Mar. 23, 2019.

Tommy Denlinger finished 2-3 with the three RBI off the homer, while Michael Cole and AJ Desautels also notchined multi-hit games.

Kyle Roche tossed a quality start, going six innings, scattering five hits and allowing two runs (one earned) while punching out eight. Dan Galef threw his fifth straight appearance without allowing a run, punching out three. Stephen Turzai (1-2) earned the win for F&M.

Game 2: F&M 8, McDaniel 7

After the Green Terror got on the board in the second with an RBI single, F&M answered back with four in the third for a 4-1 lead. The Diplomats scored all four runs before an out was record, as Evan Varga singled through the right side, then moved to third on a Spencer Berson double. AJ Desautels brought both runners home with an RBI single for a 2-1 lead. Bobby Falese plated Desautels with a triple in the next at-bat, then Hoffman brought home the shortstop after reaching on an error.

McDaniel sliced the lead to 4-2 with a two out RBI single to right center in the top of the fourth.

F&M blew the game open in the sixth, as Drew Butera opened the frame with a double, then advanced to third on a Michael Cole single to second. After Cole was caught stealing, the Diplomats loaded the bases on a pair of walks to Spencer Berson and AJ Desautels. Bobby Falese promptly mashed a tater over the left field wall, knocking in his 32nd run of the year and giving the Diplomats an 8-2 lead.

The Green Terror failed to go away quietly, plating a pair in the seventh on an RBI triple and wild pitch, then three more in the eighth to cut the Diplomat lead to just 8-7. Brooks Rush shut down McDaniel with a 5-4-3 tailor-made double play to end the inning with the tying run on first.

Thomas McLaughlin shut the door in the ninth for his first save of the year, punching out two to close out the win.

Bobby Falese ended a single short of the cycle, doing the hard part with a double, triple, and home run in a 3-5, five RBI day. Will Samuel and Tommy Denlinger both had multi-hit games, while Spencer Berson and AJ Desautels each crossed home twice.

Greg Nieskens (4-1) earned the victory, punching out eight and allowing two runs through five innings of work. Thomas McLaughlin earned his second career save, allowing a single hit in the ninth.

Up Next:

F&M finishes off its non-conference schedule with a 1:00 p.m. opening pitch against York (Pa.) on the road tomorrow afternoon.