LANCASTER, Pa. -- Franklin & Marshall baseball picked up a pair of crucial Centennial Conference (CC) victories against Haverford on Saturday afternoon - dominating a 15-3 win in the first game, before scratching out an 8-7 extra inning victory in the rubber match. The Diplomats (20-13, 11-3 CC) kept pace at the top of the CC standings with the pair of wins over the Fords (16-17, 7-7 CC), matching Swarthmore with an 11-3 conference mark.

Prior to the game, F&M honored its senior class including Michael Cole, Patrick Culcasi, Noah Jordan, Will Samuel, Stephen Turzai, and Charlie Wright.

Game 1: F&M 15, Haverford 3

A massive fifth inning saw twelve Diplomats cross home plate, as F&M trounced the Fords in the first game of the day.

F&M initially took a 3-0 lead in the second inning, working the bases loaded with no one out. Tommy Denlinger worked a walk to score one, then Bobby Falese smacked a two-run single for the next two.

Meanwhile, Kyle Roche was dealing from the bump, retiring the first ten Fords to come to the plate - including five via strikeout.

By the time the Fords finally got their second hit of the day, the Diplomats ran away with things in the fifth. Jakob Hoffman launched his eighth homer of the year to extend the lead by one. AJ Desautels followed a Drew Butera single with an RBI double to left for a 4-0 lead. Pat Elliott followed with a double to score another, which ran the Fords' starter from the game.

Facing a relief pitcher did little to stop the Diplomats, as Michael Cole immediately laced an RBI single to left, followed by another run on a wild pitch, then a Spencer Berson RBI since for a 9-0 edge. F&M reloaded the bases on a Bobby Falese walk, then plated another as Hoffman took one off the elbow, then scored one more as a pair of relief pitchers combined for a Drew Butera RBI walk.

Will Samuel promptly unloaded the bases, sending one over the fence in right-center to make it 12 runs in the inning, and a 15-0 advantage. It was the first time the Diplomats scored 10+ runs in an inning in nearly a decade - the last time coming in 2013 during the Centennial Conference Championship against Johns Hopkins.

Haverford plated three late, but the damage was already done.

Kyle Roche (3-3) tossed a gem, striking out nine Fords and scattering three hits and a run across seven innings. Noah Jordan finished off the contest with four strikeouts and two unearned in a pair of innings.

Pat Elliott finished with three hits, while Bobby Falese, Jakob Hoffman, and Michael Cole each finished with a pair. Nine different F&M players accounted for the team's 15 runs, including Will Samuel's four off the grand slam.

Game 2: F&M 8, Haverford 7 (10 innings)

The second game was a see-saw between the two sides, as the lead exchanged hands four times and runners crossing home in eight of the ten innings.

F&M started the contest with an RBI single from Will Samuel in the first for a 1-0 lead, then saw Drew Butera launch one over the left field fence for a 2-0 edge in the second.

The Fords snatched the lead away in the next frame, plating three in the top of the third for a 3-2 lead.

The Diplomats returned the favor in the bottom half as three straight singles from Spencer Berson, Bobby Falese, and Jakob Hoffman tied the game at three. AJ Desautels plated another on a fielder's choice, then Drew Butera singled back to the pitcher for a 5-3 edge.

Haverford retook the lead with a run in the fifth, followed by two more in the sixth for a 6-5 advantage.

F&M wasted little time knotting the game, as Berson lined a double to right that plated Tommy Denlinger for a 6-6 stalemate.

Pat Elliott led the eighth inning with a triple to left field, sticking the potential winning run just 90 feet from home. After a pair of groundouts with the infield in, Denlinger roped a single to left, giving F&M a 7-6 lead.

A double play put Haverford down to its final out, but the Fords recovered in the ninth with RBI double to tie the game at seven apiece.

The Diplomats finished things in the tenth, as AJ Desautels took one off the wrist to land on first. Elliott dropped a sacrifice bunt to move Desautels to second, then the second baseman took third on a wild pitch. Running on contact, a Drew Butera check swing was good enough to send Desautels home under the tag for the 8-7 win.

Spencer Berson continued his torrid stretch, now reaching safely in 19 straight games with a 3-for-5 effort. Pat Elliott, Tommy Denlinger, and Drew Butera all finished with a pair of hits, while Butera also knocked in three to lead the Diplomats.

Shane Rebane (1-0) earned his first career victory, pitching an inning of scoreless relief in the tenth. Greg Nieskens started the day for the Diplomats, going five innings and allowing four runs.

Up Next:

F&M finishes off its Centennial schedule with a home-and-home against Gettysburg on Tuesday and Friday, then hitting the road for a matchup that could determine the #1 seed in the CC postseason against Swarthmore.