Dips Down Garnet, Move Into First
Centennial Conference-leading Franklin & Marshall College (17-12, 10-3 CC) scored six runs in the second inning en route to a 9-4 win over Swarthmore in Lancaster, Pa. on Tuesday afternoon.
The Diplomats touched up Alex Ryan-Bond '07 (above), last week's Centennial Conference Pitcher of the Week, for five hits in that fatal second frame, opening up a 6-0 lead.
The bottom of the Swarthmore order got the Garnet offense rolling in the third, smacking five hits of their own off F&M starter Jeremy Knox.
Ben Mendelson '08 and Scott Dalane '08 connected on one-out singles to put runners on first and third for Swarthmore. First baseman Jody Fisher '05 kept the hit parade going, cracking a single to drive in Mendelson and move Dalane to third. Up next was Scott Young '06, who lofted a fly ball to right, deep enough to bring in Dalane. Second baseman Patrick Christmas '08 then hit a double and shortstop Sam Faeder '07 followed with an RBI single, extending his hit streak to six games. Designated hitter Travis Allen '08 hit the ball to third, which the Diplomats' third baseman was unable to field cleanly, allowing Christmas to score to cut the F&M lead to 6-4.
The Diplomats put two more on the board in the bottom of third, pushing their advantage to 8-4 before scoring once more in the seventh for the final margin.
Ryan-Bond took the loss for the Garnet, throwing all eight innings, giving up four earned runs on seven hits, striking out three while walking four.
Christmas led Swarthmore with a double, a single, and a run scored, while Faeder added a single and an RBI.
The Garnet return home for their next game, a 3:30 p.m. match-up with this same F&M squad.