Game Notes

The Franklin & Marshall baseball team (7-12, 0-0 CC) gets ready for a three-game homestand, including beginning Centennial Conference (CC) play over the weekend. The Diplomats kick off the week with a mid-week matchup against No. 19 TCNJ (12-1), on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. F&M then begins its conference slate with a home doubleheader against Swarthmore (10-8) Saturday at noon. 

#EndALZ Doubleheader

On Saturday, F&M Baseball hosts its #EndALZ Doubleheader against the Garnet. With the team goal set a $2,500, F&M baseball is raising both funds and awareness for the care, support, and research efforts of the Alzheimer's Association. To make a donation, please click here. Thank you for your support in the fight against Alzheimer's!

Last Week

The Diplomats picked up three wins last week, including a victory over Rutgers-Newark in game two of its home-opening doubleheader. 

F&M began the week with a 10-9 win over Cairn on Wednesday. The Diplomats jumped out to an 8-1 lead through 2.5 innings. However, the Highlanders came back - scoring seven-straight runs to tie the game at 8-8. An RBI-single from Andrew Filippelli in the sixth and a run scored on a walk to Jakob Hoffman in the seventh gave F&M a two-run lead. Cairn scored a run in the bottom of the seventh, but after eight innings the game was called due to darkness. Evan Varga recorded a team-high four RBI with a double and his first-career home run in the game. Colin Mackenzie earned his first collegiate win on the mound, while Thomas McLaughlin claimed his first save of the season. Read the full recap here. 

The Diplomats then exploded for 18 hits to score 18 runs in the 18-4 victory at Albright on Thursday. Bobby Falese tied the program single-game record for seven RBI in the contest. Falese tallied two doubles and one home run to lead F&M to its sixth win of the season. Mateo Sucre earned his first-collegiate win with two strikeouts and no earned runs in two innings of relief. Read the full recap here. 

Franklin & Marshall then hosted its home opener against Rutgers-Newark on Friday - splitting the doubleheader with a game two victory. In the 12-1 win in the nightcap, Peter Mullen tied the program's individual single-game strikeout record with 14 in six innings on the mound. Mullen and Dan Galef combined for 16 strikeouts in the win to finish one shy of F&M team single-game strikeout record. Read the full recap here. 

Last Time vs. TCNJ

Franklin & Marshall concluded its 2023 non-conference slate with a 17-14 win at TCNJ.  Butera led the Diplomats' offense with three hits, followed by Tommy Denlinger '23 and Hoffman each tallying two. Eight different Diplomats recorded an RBI in the win with Hoffman and Nolan McCloskey claiming three each. F&M as a team drew 14 walks in the contest for a new program single-game record. Read the full recap here.  

Last Time vs. Swarthmore

The Diplomats split doubleheader at Swarthmore last season to begin CC action. In the 8-6 victory in game one, Bobby Falese rocketed a go-ahead three-run home run in the top of the seventh to put the Diplomats in the lead. Greg Nieskens '23 picked up his third win of the season on the mound, striking out four and allowing two earned runs in 5.2 innings of relief. Read the full recap here.

TCNJ Team Preview

Before taking on the Diplomats on Tuesday, the Lions travel to play Drew on Monday at 3:30 p.m. TCNJ suffered its first loss of the season on Friday after splitting a doubleheader with Dickinson. The Lions have two batters hitting .400 or above with Justin Marcario holding a .463 batting average and Jack Haynes batting .400 this season. Marcario also has recorded 32 total bases and is slugging .593. Pitcher Dan Merkel is having a phenomenal year on the mound. Merkel sports a 0.45 ERA and 0.70 WHIP with 24 strikeouts in 20 innings pitched. 

Swarthmore Team Preview

Currently on a three-game losing streak, Swarthmore plays Rutgers-Camden on Tuesday and Delaware Valley on Wednesday. Aidan Sullivan is off to a monster start to the year at the plate. Sullivan is batting .531 with an OPS of 1.536. Slugging .859, Sullivan has two home runs, 11 doubles, and two triples this spring. Andrew Moy has a 2.08 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 26 innings on the mound.