LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall baseball team (5-2) came away with two non-conference victories against Rutgers-Newark (1-6) at Penn Medicine Park on Saturday. The Diplomats cruised to a 17-2 win in game one, before claiming a 14-4 victory in game two with both games ending in a run-rule.
 
Game 1: Franklin & Marshall 17, Rutgers-Newark 2 (7 Innings)
The Diplomats used five runs in the third and nine runs in the fourth to cruise to a run-rule victory over the Scarlet Raiders in game one.

Franklin & Marshall struck first in the bottom of the second with Zac Fuscaldo reaching base with a walk and immediately stealing second. After an error and a single loaded the bases, Fuscaldo came home on a fielder's choice to put the hosts ahead, 1-0.

Rutgers-Newark answered in the top of the third with a two-run home run to take a 2-1 advantage. However, F&M came right back in the bottom-half of the frame. After Wolpert got hit by a pitch, Matt Hollender launched his seventh-career home run over the fence in right center field to retake the lead, 3-2. The Diplomats weren't done yet as DiGiacomo doubled and Fuscaldo walked with no outs in the frame. After a double steal, both runners came home on a single from Gideon Schwartz to extend the lead to 5-2. Tommy Truzzolino plated Schwartz on a triple into the right center field gap to cushion the lead at four.

The Diplomats continued their success at the plate in the bottom of the fourth as Wolpert and Hollender worked their way into scoring position with one out. The next batter, Fuscaldo brought Wolpert home with a double into right field. Schwartz followed with a single up the middle to plate Hollender and Fuscaldo, pushing the lead to 9-2. F&M had the bases loaded when the Scarlet Raiders hit two batters and walked one to extend the Diplomat lead to 12-2. Hollender capped the inning by clearing the bases with a three-RBI double as the hosts took a 15-2 advantage.

Hollender led the Diplomats with three hits, while Schwartz tallied two in the win. Hollender also recorded a career-high five RBI, while Schwartz drove in four RBI in the contest. As a team, F&M registered seven extra-base hits in the game.

David McGeorge (2-0) pitched well en route to his second win of the season. McGeorge struck out one and allowed two hits and two earned runs in 6.0 innings on the mound. Mateo Sucre finished the contest with two strikeouts and zero hits-allowed in 1.0 inning of relief.
 
Game 2: Franklin & Marshall 14, Rutgers-Newark 4 (7 Innings)
The Scarlet Raiders took a 2-0 lead in the second inning, but F&M battled back to take an 8-2 lead through four. Despite allowing runs in the fifth and sixth innings, the Diplomats scored six in the final two frames to complete the run-rule victory.

Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the second, DiGiacomo led off the frame with a triple to the alley in right center field. After a walk, DiGiacomo came home on a double play to cut the deficit to a run. Enrico Tufano kept the inning alive with a triple of his own into left field and later scored on a balk to tie the game at 2-2.

In the bottom of the inning, the Diplomats rallied with two outs as Wolpert singled and advanced to second on an error. After Hollender was hit by a pitch, DiGiacomo ripped his second triple of the game to give F&M a 4-2 lead. Nick Lorenzo followed with a single to left field to extend the lead to 5-2.

The Diplomats continued its offensive success in the bottom of the fourth as Tufano and Michael von Zuben both reached base via walks. Wolpert cleared the bases with a no-doubt three-run home run over the right field fence to give the hosts an 8-2 advantage. The blast was Wolpert's fifth-career home run.

Rutgers-Newark chipped away at the deficit by scoring two runs to make the score 8-4. In the bottom of the sixth, Truzzolino walked and immediately stole second. The first-year came around to score on an RBI-single from von Zuben to push the lead to five. After a walk to Wolpert, Hollender plated both runners on a double to left field to extend the lead to 11-4. Landon Hallett finished off the inning with a single to left field to score one and cushion the lead at 12-4.

F&M loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh as a wild pitch scored Truzzolino to extend the lead to nine. A single from Boden Belanger in his first-career at-bat plated Ethan Conklin to secure the run-rule win.

Wolpert led the game with three hits and three RBI. DiGiacomo followed with two triples and two RBI in the victory. F&M tallied four triples in the win, setting the single-game program record.

Will O'Connor (1-0) earned his third-career win on the mound, striking out four and allowing three earned runs in 5.0 innings of work. Chet Kosnar and Chris Keating finished off the game, striking out one apiece with both pitchers completing 1.0 inning of relief each.

Franklin & Marshall now hits the road to play a non-conference game against McDaniel on Tuesday, starting at 3:30 p.m.