Franklin & Marshall College

ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall baseball team's (22-15-1, 8-9-1 CC) season came to a close on the road at Muhlenberg (11-25, 6-12 CC) in Sunday afternoon's Centennial Conference (CC) doubleheader. The Diplomats scored 34 total runs in the twinbill with a 17-4 win in game one and a 17-7 victory on game two. Despite the sweep, F&M came up short of reaching the CC Tournament as it ended the year seventh in the conference standings.
 
Game 1: Franklin & Marshall 17, Muhlenberg 4
F&M scored 12 runs in the final four innings to surge past the Mules in game one. Muhlenberg had an early edge with a four-run third inning, but were kept off the scoreboard for the remainder of the contest.

The Diplomats struck first in the top of the third as Ethan Conklin singled and worked his way around to third on a steal and a wild pitch. Tanner Wolpert brought him home on a single through the middle of the infield to put F&M ahead, 1-0.

The Mules scored four runs on three hits in the bottom of the third to take a 4-1 advantage, but the Diplomats came right back in the next half inning. Gideon Schwartz reached base to set up Nick DiGiacomo to launch a two-run home run over the left field wall for his fifth of the season, trimming the deficit to a run.

In the top of the fifth, Wolpert walked and Matt Hollender hit a double to put two runners into scoring position to start the frame. A groundout allowed Wolpert to score and tie the game at 4-4. Two batters later, Zac Fuscaldo brought Hollender home on a sacrifice fly to regain the lead for the Diplomats.

Franklin & Marshall added insurance in the top of the sixth with a big two-out rally that began with Michael von Zuben legging out an infield single. F&M worked the bases loaded for Schwartz to rip a three-RBI double into center field to extend the lead to 8-4. Schwartz came around to score on an error to give the Diplomats a 9-4 cushion.

The visitors continued to apply pressure in the top of the eighth, putting runners at the corners with no outs in the inning. A fielder's choice allowed Wolpert to score for the Diplomats' 10th run of the contest. After DiGiacomo earned a walk, Nolan McCloskey roped a pinch-hit two-RBI double into left center to put F&M ahead by eight. Landon Hallett capped the inning with an RBI-single into left field, scoring McCloskey and giving the Diplomats a 13-4 lead.

F&M put the game away in the ninth as von Zuben and Wolpert reached base to set up a three-run home run by Hollender to give the Diplomats a 16-4 lead. Later in the inning Ryan Rodriguez slashed an RBI-single into right field for F&M's 17th run of the contest.

Hollender and von Zuben led F&M with three hits apiece, while DiGiacomo followed with two hits in the contest. Schwartz drove-in a career-high five RBI in the win, while Wolpert accounted for four runs scored in the victory.

Kiernan Keller (3-3) registered his third win of the season, striking out three and allowing four earned runs in 8.0 innings pitched. Mateo Sucre closed the game, allowing no hits or runs in the final frame.
 
Game 2: Franklin & Marshall 17, Muhlenberg 7
Franklin & Marshall jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, but the Mules came back to get within two runs of tying the game up in the seventh inning. From that point, the Diplomats scored nine runs in the top of the ninth to secure the sweep over Muhlenberg.

The Diplomats got their offense started in the top of the first as Hollender doubled, followed by a single from Schwartz to put F&M in front, 1-0. The visitors continued to produce at the plate in the top of the second as Franklin & Marshall loaded the bases to start the inning. Conklin laced a single into right center to score two and extend the lead to 3-0. A sacrifice fly from von Zuben allowed Hallett to score for the Diplomats' fourth run of the game. Back-to-back singles from Wolpert and Hollender brought Conklin in to score to extend the lead to 5-0.

The Mules began to chip away at the deficit, trimming F&M's lead to 8-6 at the end of the seventh inning.

F&M's offense caught fire in the ninth, getting two runners into scoring position to start the frame. A single from Hallett brought Fuscaldo home to push the lead to 9-6. Two wild pitches and a balk allowed two runs to score, giving F&M an 11-6 advantage. Von Zuben continued the stretch by punching a single through the left side of the infield to score Conklin, growing the lead to six. A double from Wolpert plated von Zuben to raise the lead to seven. The next batter, Hollender blasted his second homer of the day and his ninth home run of the season over the left field wall to push the Diplomats' lead to 15-6. A two-RBI double from Hallett later in the inning gave Franklin & Marshall a 17-6 cushion.

Hollender became the second Diplomat in program history to have two five-hit performances in their career, batting 5-for-6 with two doubles and a home run in Sunday's game-two win. Hollender finishes his career with the highest slugging percentage in program history at .630.

Fuscaldo tallied a career-high four hits, while Conklin and Hallett registered three hits apiece in the win. Conklin, Hallett, and Hollender all notched three RBI each in the victory.

As a team, Franklin & Marshall recorded eight doubles in the contest, which is one-shy of tying the single-game program record.

Will O'Connor (4-2) claimed his fourth win of the season, striking out six and allowing two earned runs in 5.0 innings of work. Anders Snow was the first out of the bullpen, tossing two strikeouts and allowing three earned runs in 2.0 innings of relief. Luca Marshall and Sucre combined to pitch the final two innings of the game, striking out one apiece and allowing just one earned run.

Franklin & Marshall concludes the season with an overall record of 22-15-1, while earning an 8-9-1 record against Centennial Conference opponents.