Game Notes

The Franklin & Marshall baseball team (11-14, 3-2 CC) gets set for another full week of Centennial Conference (CC) action. The Diplomats host Ursinus (9-14, 2-3 CC) on Tuesday, before traveling to take on the Bears on Friday. Both games of that home-and-home series will begin at 3:30 p.m. F&M then plays host to Muhlenberg (6-17, 0-6 CC) for a doubleheader on Saturday, starting at noon.

Last Week

Franklin & Marshall claimed wins in three of its four Centennial Conference games last week. In Friday's 11-8 win over Gettysburg, Bobby Falese became F&M's all-time RBI leader with his 114th-career RBI. The Diplomats scored six runs in the fourth inning to jump out an early advantage. The Bullets battled back late to cut the deficit to three and brought the game-tying run to the plate. However, Thomas McLaughlin slammed the door closed on Gettysburg's comeback hopes. Kiernan Keller earned the win - striking out five and allowing one earned run in 5.2 innings pitched. Read the full recap here. 

The Diplomats then went on to split its Saturday doubleheader at McDaniel as they claimed a win in game one, 4-3, before falling in game two, 3-2. With the win in game one, head coach Ryan Horning earned his 200th-career victory. Dan Galef earned the win on the mound for his fourth of the year - striking out two and allowing two earned runs in six innings. McLaughlin picked up his CC-leading fourth save of the season - striking out one, while not allowing a hit in 1.1 innings of relief. Read the full recap here. 

F&M wrapped up the week with a 5-4 victory at Gettysburg on Sunday to sweep the season series against the Bullets. Drew Butera and Andrew Filippelli led the visitors with two hits each, while Spencer Berson and Falese recorded one RBI each. Will O'Connor earned his first-collegiate win on the mound with one strikeout and one earned run allowed through five innings. Dax Bush collected his second save of the year - striking out four and not allowing a hit through two innings of relief. Read the full recap here. 

Last Time vs. Ursinus

The Diplomats swept its 2023 home-and-home series against the Bears with a 10-7 win in game one and a 9-8 walk-off victory in game two. In the 11-inning thriller against Ursinus in game two, Butera tripled to set up a Berson walk-off single to complete the series sweep. The Diplomats faced a five-run deficit early in the contest, but worked their way back to tie the game in the ninth. Read the full recap here.

Last Time vs. Muhlenberg

F&M and Muhlenberg split its doubleheader last season with the Mules winning game one, 9-2, and the Diplomats claiming a 9-8 victory in game two. In the game two win, a wild pitch that scored AJ Desautels in the top of the ninth turned out to be the deciding factor as F&M held on in the bottom half of the inning. Berson tallied four hits, while Falese recorded three in the win. Shane Rebane earned the victory on the mound as he pitched three innings of relief and gave up just one earned run. Read the full recap here. 

Ursinus Team Preview

The Bears are currently on a three-game losing streak after dropping games to Johns Hopkins and Haverford. Jakob Cantor leads UC in batting average, hitting .306 with 25 total bases and eight RBI this season. Pitcher Dan Bass holds a 4.78 ERA with a team-high 35 strikeouts in 32 innings on the mound.

Muhlenberg Team Preview

The Mules play two games against Dickinson and one game against King's before heading to Lancaster on Saturday. Muhlenberg has gotten swept in its last two CC doubleheaders, falling to Gettysburg and Swarthmore. Marc Quarrie leads Muhlenberg with a .296 average, while slugging .451. Quarrie also has five doubles, two home runs, and 14 RBI this season. Pitcher Ryan Friesen sports a 2.57 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 35 innings pitched. 

F&M Team Stats

Overall Record: 11-14

Conference Record: 3-2

Streak: Won 1

Home Record: 3-2

Away Record: 4-6

Neutral Site Record: 4-6

Hitting:

Batting Average: .272

Slugging: .405

On-Base Percentage: .366

Doubles: 47

Triples: 9

Home Runs: 16

RBI: 142

Runs Scored: 162

Walks: 98

Stolen Bases: 56

Pitching:

ERA: 5.49

Strikeouts: 204

Saves: 7

Complete Games: 0

Fielding:

Fielding Percentage: .933

Putouts: 623

Assists: 197

Errors: 59

Team Leaders

Hitting:

Batting Average (Min. 2 PA/G and 75% of games played): Michael von Zuben (.373)

Slugging: Bobby Falese (.545)

On-Base Percentage: Michael von Zuben (.429)

Doubles: Spencer Berson / Bobby Falese / Jakob Hoffman (7)

Triples: Spencer Berson / Drew Butera / Bobby Falese (2)

Home Runs: Bobby Falese (4)

RBI: Drew Butera / Bobby Falese / Jakob Hoffman (22)

Runs Scored: Bobby Falese / Jakob Hoffman (22)

Walks: Spencer Berson (14)

Stolen Bases: Michael von Zuben (13)

Pitching:

ERA (1 IP/G): Kiernan Keller (3.14)

Strikeouts: Peter Mullen (39)

Innings Pitched: Dan Galef (35.0)

Wins: Dan Galef (3)

Saves: Thomas McLaughlin (4)

Complete Games: N/A