LANCASTER, Pa. -- Franklin & Marshall baseball remained undefeated in Centennial Conference (CC) play with 7-2 and 4-1 victories over Muhlenberg at Caplan Field on Saturday afternoon. The Diplomats (14-10, 5-0 CC) used stellar starting pitching from Kyle Roche and Greg Nieskens to stymie the Mules' (11-11, 0-5 CC) bats in the twin bill.

Game 1: F&M 7, Muhlenberg 2

F&M stuck a runner in scoring position in every inning, taking advantage of a pair of Muhlenberg errors to plate five in the victory.

The Mules kicked off the scoring with a two-run blast that just snuck inside the foul pole for an early 2-0 advantage.

After placing runners in scoring position in the first and second, F&M finally answered back with an RBI single from AJ Desautels in the third to trim the Mules' lead to 2-1.

The Diplomats took control in the fifth, loading the bases with just one away. Will Samuel delivered an out later with a single through the right side, bringing home Desautels and Spencer Berson for a 3-2 lead.

That was all the runs Kyle Roche needed, as the senior settled in on the mound after the early struggles. After putting two runners on with no one out in the second, Roche proceeded to strike out seven of the next nine Mules to come to the plate. The righty didn't allow a ball out of the infield until a single in the sixth which broke a streak of 14 straight retired.

Insurance runs came in the seventh and eighth for the Diplomats, as a Tommy Denlinger double down the right field line scored Samuel for a 4-2 edge in the former. A two-out error by the third baseman allowed F&M to rally yet again, as Desautels reached first on the error, then stole second. A Bobby Falese single plated the shortshop for a 5-2 lead. After a Jakob Hoffman double put ducks on the pond, Will Samuel smacked a line shot up the middle for the 7-2 final.

Dan Galef notched his sixth consecutive appearance without a run, earning his first career save with two innings out of the pen.

Will Samuel finished 4-5 with four RBI, while Spencer Berson and Drew Butera had multi-hit games.

Kyle Roche (2-2) evened his record with seven innings of two-run ball, striking out eight and walking none in a superb start.

Game Two: F&M 4, Muhlenberg 1

After both sides went 1-2-3 to open the first two frames, F&M got on the board in the third with a two-out error from the Mules' shortstop. Pat Elliott went station-to-station after a leadoff single to give the Diplomats an early 1-0 edge.

F&M tacked on two more in the fifth, as Elliott worked a one-out walk, then advanced to third on an Evan Varga single. Elliott touched home, scrambling 90 feet from third on a wild pitch for a 2-0 lead. Spencer Berson added another to the F&M advantage with an RBI double just two batters later for a 3-0 edge.

Meanwhile, Greg Nieskens was dealing from the mound. The lefty faced just three over the minimum through six innings. Nieskens finished his day just an inning later, only allowing a single Mule in scoring position while punching out seven.

Things got dicey after the junior starter exited, as Brooks Rush put the first two batters of the eighth on base, then allowing an RBI single to slice the F&M lead to 3-1.

Bijan Anvar proved he was up to the task in the high leverage situation - fielding a sacrifice bunt for the first out that put the tying run in scoring position. Back-to-back strikeouts to end the frame kept the F&M advantage in tact in a huge moment for the first-year reliever.

The Diplomats added an insurance run in the eighth, as Jakob Hoffman doubled home AJ Desautels for the 4-1 edge.

After allowing a leadoff single, Steven Turzai finished the game with a strikeout, fielder's choice, and fly out to right to close the door.

Five different Diplomats combined for the five hits in the team effort.

Greg Nieskens (5-1) earned his fifth victory of the year, allowing just three hits while striking out seven. The junior has allowed just three runs in his last three starts, totalling 18 innings of work. Turzai earned his second save, which now places him in a tie for fifth in F&M history with six in his career.

Up Next:

F&M continues its trip through the Centennial with a road test at Ursinus on Monday afternoon at 3:30 p.m., facing the Bears after a pair of postponements. The Diplomats will return home just one day later, dealing with Dickinson on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. at Caplan.