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LANCASTER, PA – Pitcher/pinch hitter Jeff Rowand (So., York, PA/Dallastown) doubled down the right field line to drive in catcher Stephen Frederick (Jr., Downingtown, PA/Downingtown) in the bottom of the ninth inning and pitcher Ted Serro (Jr., Brooklyn, NY/Xavier) threw a complete game six-hit shutout as the Franklin & Marshall College Diplomats defeated Johns Hopkins University 1-0 in game one of the 2005 Centennial Conference Championship series at Caplan Field. Scoreless entering the ninth inning, Johns Hopkins threatened in the top of the inning as cleanup hitter and leftfielder Bryce Baumann singled to third base with two outs. First baseman Mike Durgala doubled to put runners on second and third and bring up centerfielder Paul Winterling who flied out to Dan Hanecak (Jr., Conestoga, PA/Lancaster Catholic) in right field for the final out of the half inning. The Diplomats put their first runner in the ninth on base as a pitch hit Frederick. Second baseman Tommy Miller (Fr., York, PA/Central York) laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Frederick to third and bring up shortstop and nine-hole hitter Josh Welk (So., Strasburg, PA/Lancaster Christian). Rowand replaced Welk in the lineup as a pinch-hitter and roped and offering from Hopkins’ pitcher Jim Flannery over first base and just inside the foul line for an RBI double to bring in Frederick with the winning run. The at-bat marked the first of the season for Rowand who entered the game with a 5-1 record, a 3.26 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 49.2 innings on the mound this season. Overall, it marked his first plate appearance since April 18, 2004 when he went 0-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI in an 8-7 loss to Villa Julie College. Further, it marks the third hit of his career, and the first since a single on March 26, 2004 in a 16-5 win in Lancaster versus Swarthmore College. On the mound, Serro dominated the Blue Jays’ batters fanning six and allowing two runners to reach third base in the game. Hopkins best chance at scoring came in the first inning as second baseman Ian Christie led off the game with a single to left field and advanced to second on a ground out by third baseman Paul Long. Rightfielder Gary Rosenberg popped up to Serro and starting leftfielder Eric Nigro reached first on an error by Welk to put runners on the corners with two outs. Facing Durgala, Serro forced Hopkins’ #5 batter to pop-up to Welk to end the inning. Franklin & Marshall appeared primed to score in the first inning as third baseman Gary Kruger (Jr., East Islip, NY/East Islip) singled past third base with two outs and moved to second base as designated hitter Scott Haft (Sr., Jupiter, FL/Jupiter) was hit in the back by a pitch. Kruger stole third base, but Flannery induced centerfielder Corey Caruthers (Jr., Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor) to ground out to shortstop to end the inning. Serro mowed through the Blue Jays in the top of the second inning to bring F&M back to the plate. Hanecak singled to lead off the inning and moved to third as Frederick singled down the right field line to put runners on the corners with no outs. Miller reached on a fielder’s choice as Stephen advanced to second base and Hanecak was thrown out at the plate. Welk singled to load the bases, but first baseman Pat O’Reilly (Fr., Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) and leftfielder Rich Gallugi (Fr., Peabody, MA/Peabody) popped up to second base and flied out to right field, respectively, to end the inning. After Serro retired the Blue Jays in order in the third inning, the Diplomats again loaded the bases as Kruger walked and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Haft. Caruthers reached on a fielder’s choice to put runners on first and second before Kruger stole third and Caruthers swiped second base to put two runners in scoring position with one out. Hanecak popped up to first base and Frederick was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs. Miller then grounded back to the mound with a bunt attempt to end the inning. F&M threatened again in the fifth inning as Kruger singled to centerfield and advanced to second base on a ground out by Haft. Caruthers lined out to centerfield and Kruger stole third to put another Diplomat within a sprint of the plate. However, Flannery got Hanecak to ground out to shortstop to end the inning. Neither team threatened again until the ninth as Serro’s arm and Rowand’s bat pulled out the first post-season victory by the Diplomats at home and the first Centennial Conference championship win by Franklin & Marshall College in school history. Further, the victory marks the first time that Johns Hopkins University has been shutout by a Centennial Conference school since 1999 and the fourth time that Hopkins has been shutout by a Centennial Conference school since the conference was founded in 1993. In addition, the win snaps a 40-game streak by Hopkins of not being shutout dating back to a 6-0 loss to then #8 nationally ranked Rowan University on May 22, 2004 in the NCAA Regional Tournament, and marks the fewest runs scored by Hopkins against a Centennial Conference opponent since a pair of 2-1 losses in Lancaster on April 12, 2003 at Caplan Field. The shutout marks the second of the season for Serro as the junior right-hander lowered his ERA to 2.20 with a 6-3 record, three complete games and a .188 opponents’ batting average as he has struck out 66 batters in 61.1 innings this year. Historically, it marks the first time that a Franklin & Marshall pitcher has shutout Hopkins since Tim Sheridan tossed a 2-0 victory on April 13, 1996 in Baltimore, and marks the first shutout of the Blue Jays in Lancaster since a 1-0 win on April 15, 1995. At the plate, Kruger led the way going two-for-three with a walk and three stolen bases as the Diplomats slugged seven base hits and left 10 runners on base. For Hopkins, Christie, Rosenberg, Nigro, Baumann, Durgala and Mike Spiciarich recorded base hits as the Blue Jays tallied six base hits and left six runners on base. The Blue Jays advanced to the championship series on the arm on Ryan McConnell who went the distance allowing one run on six hits and three walks with three strikeouts in a 7-1 victory over Haverford College in the semifinals. The Fords jumped on the board first as Ben Field reached on a two out error by Spiciarich and advanced to second on a throwing error on a pick-off attempt by McConnell. Dan Render walked and stole second as part of a double steal with Field as the runners moved up to second and third. Brandon Mills then bunted to score Field for a 1-0 lead. Hopkins responded with their first batter in the bottom of the fifth as Durgala pulled an offering from Haverford starting pitcher Nick Chanock over the left field fence for a home run and a 1-1 tie. Winterling then doubled to left field and advanced to third base on a wild pitch before scoring on a throwing error by catcher Kenny McAlpine for a 2-1 lead. The Blue Jays tacked on three runs in the sixth to go ahead 5-1 before Winterling crushed a pitch over the left field fence in the eighth inning for a two run home run and the 7-1 final. Chanock took the loss for Haverford allowing five runs on six hits and three walks with four strikeouts in 5.1 innings before being relieved by John Castronova who allowed two runs on one hit and a walk in 2.2 innings. Overall, the championship series marks the first time that Franklin & Marshall has hosted any conference baseball playoff game and the first time that the Centennial Conference championship will not be decided at Johns Hopkins University as the #1 seed has won each of the Centennial Conference tournaments. The Diplomats are making their third appearance in the Centennial Conference playoffs. In 2002, #2 seed Franklin & Marshall fell to #4 seed Muhlenberg College 5-4 in 10 innings on a home run. Last year, the #2 seed Diplomats advanced to the title series for the first time in school history via a 5-4 win over Ursinus College in the semifinals on a walk-off homerun before Hopkins swept the championship series. F&M’s win marks the first time that Johns Hopkins has lost a Centennial Conference championship game as the Blue Jays swept Muhlenberg (3-1 W, 5-4 W) in 2002 and 2003 (9-2 w, 6-4 W) and the Diplomats (18-15 W, 17-9 W) in 2004 in Baltimore. The championship series will continue at noon on May 8 for game two, as the Diplomats will look to sweep the series. If necessary, game three will begin at approximately 3:00 p.m. with the tournament’s champion earning the CC’s automatic bid to the 2005 NCAA Division III regional tournament. The NCAA field will be announced on May 16. Historically, Franklin & Marshall last won the Centennial Conference title 10 years ago in 1995 as the Diplomats recorded a 30-6-1 record to win the regular season by three games over McDaniel College and earn the second conference title in school history. In 1978, the Diplomats finished 14-11-1 to win the Middle Atlantic Conference championship. Johns Hopkins will look to rebound and win both games on Sunday as the Blue Jays are seeking the program’s eighth Centennial Conference title and fifth straight as the Blue Jays won the 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 crowns.
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