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LANCASTER, PA – Ursinus College scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth and one in the bottom of the tenth inning to defeat Franklin & Marshall College 6-5 in the Centennial Conference baseball opener. F&M jumped on the board in the top of the first inning as leadoff hitter Pat O’Reilly (Fr., Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) led the game off with a double the advanced to third on a double by Rob Stern (Fr., Franklin Lakes, NJ/Indian Hills). Two batters later O’Reilly scored as Corey Caruthers (Jr., Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor) reached on a fielder’s choice moving Stern to third. Jon Compitello (Jr., Yardley, PA/George School) then knocked in Stern as he reached on a fielder’s choice. After a double steal in which Caruthers stole third and Compitello stole second, Dan Hanecak (Jr., Conestoga, PA/Lancaster Catholic) plated Caruthers with a sacrifice fly to right field for a 3-0 lead. The Diplomats tacked on one in the top of the fourth and one in the top of the fifth for a 5-0 nothing lead going into the bottom of the fifth. The Bears answered in the bottom of the sixth as Ted Piotrowicz led the inning off with a double to center then scored two batters later as Ben Fisher knocked him in with an RBI single to cut the Diplomats lead to 5-1. Ursinus tied the game in the bottom of the ninth inning as they sent nine men to the plate scoring four runs on four hits to knot the game at 5-5 and send the contest to extra innings. After Bears reliever Ryan Smith pitched a scoreless top of the tenth inning, John Sheppard reached on a walk and Brad Wickersham then pinch ran for him. After a fly out to centerfield, Wickersham advanced to second base on a Ben Fisher single. Victor Rodriguez then singled down the third base line to plate Wickersham with the game-winning run. On the hill for the Diplomats starter Jeremy Knox (Jr., Bronx, NY/Iona Prep) went eight innings allowing five runs on 11 hits with five strikeouts before Matt Kalos (Fr., Cheltenham, PA/Cheltenham) pitched the final inning and a third allowing one run on three hits to take the loss. Franklin & Marshall (6-9, 0-1 Centennial Conference) will return to action on March 31 at home versus #26 Rutgers-Camden. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m.
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