ORLANDO, Fla. – Day two of The Spring Games brought another victory for the Franklin & Marshall softball team as the Diplomats started their Monday with a 4-3 win versus Geneva. The Diplomats (2-2) nearly had a sweep of their opponents, but a late rally from Ripon resulted in an eventual 9-8 final (8 inn.) gave F&M its second split in as many days.

Franklin & Marshall 4, Geneva 3

Monday's opener saw both teams score all of their runs in the same respecitve half innings. The Diplomats opened a 4-0 lead during the bottom of the second, while Geneva scored its three in the top of the fifth.

During Franklin & Marshall's big second inning, the Diplomats saw their first five runners reach base. Hillary Murse started the frame with a walk before back-to-back singles from Megan Wiarda and Kaitlin Herrick loaded the bases. Francesca Testa then worked the second walk of the inning to force in a run before a wild pitch allowed another to scamper home. The Diplomats saw one of their base runners cut down on a tag at the plate, but a Jaden Spigner sacrifice fly and double steal from Jensen Macaulay ultimately made it 4-0 after just two innings.

Geneva attempted to answer in the fifth as it scored three runs on three hits before a pair of pop ups on the infield got the Diplomats out of that jam. The Golden Tornadoes had the bases loaded just one inning later, but a groundout to pitcher Ainsley McClure helped F&M escape any damage during that frame before McClure allowed just one walk and closed the game with strikeout during the seventh inning.

McClure struck out five batters to record her second collegiate victory in as many starts. She allowed just three hits outside of Geneva's three-run fifth inning.

Ripon 9, Franklin & Marshall 8 (8 inn.)

Coming right back for game two, Ripon was out to a 4-0 lead after the first two innings, but the Diplomats were not going to go down with a fight. RBI singles from Riley Williams and Gia Angiolillo cut that deficit in half during the third. Kayla Kilmer evened the game during the fourth inning with a two-run double over the centerfielder's head before a Ripon lapse on defense allowed F&M to take its first lead of evening.

Ripon later leveled the game in the bottom of the fourth with a home run, but a walk that was followed by an RBI double from Sami LaRosa put F&M back in front during the fifth. The Diplomats got their lead to 8-5 during the sixth as Kate Clement laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt attempt. When the throw got away from the defense, both Devon Witt and Jaden Spigner came around to score. A two-run home run from the Red Hawks in the bottom of the sixth brought Ripon back within a run, and it would send the game to extra innings with three straight singles that pushed across the game-tying run during the bottom of the seventh.

Franklin & Marshall loaded the bases during its half of the eighth inning, but a runner's interference call loomed large after Witt singled to load the bases. With Ripon also starting its half of the eighth with a runner on second, the Red Hawks singled into right field during their first at-bat of that inning which allowed the winning run to come around to score.

Aliza Sheflin got the start for the Diplomats and really settled in after the first two innings as she went 5.1 innings before Kayla Kilmer came on in relief to finish the game.

The Diplomats return to action on Tuesday with games against Rowan (2 p.m.) and Western New England (4:30 p.m.). Both of those contests will be played at Hancock Park.