LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall baseball team (21-19, 7-11 CC) was defeated in both games of its doubleheader against Muhlenberg (19-20, 8-10 CC) Saturday afternoon at Penn Medicine Park. The Mules came out on top, 12-8, in 11 innings in game one before holding off F&M, 4-1, in game two.

Before the games, the F&M baseball program honored its seven seniors. Those seniors included Bijan Anvar, AJ Desautels, Bobby Falese, Andrew Filippelli, Dan Galef, Shane Rebane and Conner Rush.
 
Game 1: Muhlenberg 12, Franklin & Marshall 8 (11 Innings)
F&M forced extra innings, but Muhlenberg scored four runs in the top of the 11th to pull away from the Diplomats in game one.

Trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the first, Falese hit a triple that was followed by a double from Matt Hollender to cut the deficit to two. An inning later, Filippelli walked and scored all the way from first on an RBI-double from Rush to get the Diplomats within a run.

Muhlenberg added a run in the top of the sixth to go ahead, 4-2, but F&M chipped away in the bottom of the seventh. Rush was hit by a pitch, followed by a single from Nolan McCloskey to put runners at the corners with one out. The next batter, Falese hit his second triple of the game down the left field line to score two and tie the game at 4-4.

The Mules gained a 5-4 lead with a run in the eighth inning.

In the bottom of the ninth, F&M rallied to force extras. McCloskey walked and Tanner Wolpert singled to put two runners on with two outs. Hollender then ripped a single through the left side of the infield to score McCloskey and tie the game at 5-5.

Muhlenberg took an 8-5 lead in the top of the 10th, but F&M once again battled back in the bottom half of the frame. Desautels singled and Filippelli walked to put two runners on to leadoff the inning. Rush drilled a single through the right side of the infield to score Desautels and cut the deficit to 8-6. A sacrifice bunt from Vincent Mariniello put two runners in scoring position, setting up a two-RBI double from McCloskey to tie the contest at 8-8.

Five Diplomats tallied multi-hit games with Hollender leading the team with three hits in game one.

Anvar (4-3) was hit with the loss, striking out one and allowing four earned runs in 0.2 innings of relief.
 
Game 2: Muhlenberg 4, Franklin & Marshall 1
Muhlenberg plated three runs in the top of the fifth to separate from the Diplomats and earn the sweep on Saturday.

Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth, Falese singled up the middle and advanced to second on a wild pitch during the next at-bat. Rush then laced a double down the left field line to score Falese and tie the game at 1-1.

F&M trailed 4-1 in the bottom of the seventh as its offense threatened late. Wolpert singled and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Nick Lorenzo. Michael von Zuben followed with a single to put runners at the corners with two outs. However, Muhlenberg forced a groundout to put an end to the inning.

Rush and von Zuben each tallied two hits in the contest with Rush recording the team's only extra-base hit.

Colin Mackenzie (3-1) was tagged with the loss, striking out three and allowing three earned runs in 4.2 innings of work. Luca Marshall was impressive out of the bullpen, striking out a season-high six batters and allowing no earned runs in 3.2 innings of relief.

With Saturday's losses, Franklin & Marshall has been eliminated from playoff contention. The Diplomats finish the 2025 season 21-19 overall and 7-11 in conference play.