ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. – The Franklin & Marshall baseball team (0-1) dropped its first game of the 2024 season against Penn State Harrisburg (1-0), 5-4, in Saturday's non-conference game in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. The Diplomats scored four runs on three home runs, but the Lions kept pace – tying the game in the eighth and walking-off F&M in the ninth.
Penn State Harrisburg got on the scoreboard first in the bottom of the second inning on a two-out RBI-single to put the Lions up, 1-0. F&M responded immediately in the top of the third as
Spencer Berson blasted his 13th-career home run over the left field wall to tie the game up.
In the top half of the fourth inning, the Diplomats got its leadoff hitter on base as an error allowed
Jakob Hoffman to reach second on the play. Two batters later,
Drew Butera launched a home run over the left field fence to give F&M a 3-1 advantage.
PSU Harrisburg quickly answered with runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to tie the game at 3-3. In the top of the sixth,
Bobby Falese tallied F&M's third home run of the day with a leadoff shot over the left field wall to once again put the Diplomats ahead, 4-3. With the blast, Falese broke the record for most home runs in the program's career record books with 15. He breaks Scott Haft's record of 14-career homers – a record that has been held since the 2005 season. Also with 14 home runs, Hoffman tails Falese in a race to be F&M's home run king by the end of the season.
The Lions didn't go away quietly as they tied the game in the eighth. After F&M failed to score in the top of the ninth, Penn State Harrisburg loaded the bases in the bottom of the frame to set up a walk-off sacrifice fly.
Falese tallied a team-high three hits in the game, while Butera led the Diplomats in RBI with two.
Thomas McLaughlin (0-1) was hit with the loss, striking out one and allowing two earned runs in 1.2 innings of relief.
Bijan Anvar started the game for F&M – striking out six and allowing two earned runs in four innings on the mound.
Franklin & Marshall gets set for a doubleheader against host North Carolina Wesleyan on Sunday, starting at 11:00 a.m.