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LANCASTER, PA – Matt Metsch (Fr., East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) threw a two-hit shutout with nine strikeouts and a walk as Franklin & Marshall College defeated Swarthmore College 5-0 in a rain-shortened eight inning Centennial Conference baseball game at Caplan Field. The win moved Franklin & Marshall (22-8, 12-2 Centennial Conference) into first place in the Centennial Conference standings as Johns Hopkins University (23-6-2, 11-2-1 CC) fell to Gettysburg College 4-0 in the shadow of the historic battlefield. In addition, the victory marked Metsch’s sixth win of the season as he improved to 6-0 with a 0.85 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 42.1 innings of work. The Diplomats plated the winning run in the bottom of the first inning as Rob Stern (So., Franklin Lakes, NJ/Indian Hills) doubled down the left field line and moved to third on a wild pitch. Corey Caruthers (Sr., Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor) walked to put runners on the corners with two outs and moved to second on a passed ball which allowed Stern to score for a 1-0 lead. Franklin & Marshall tacked on another run in the fourth inning as Caruthers walked and stole second base before Stephen Frederick (Sr., Downingtown, PA/Downingtown) walked to put runners on first and second with no outs against starting pitcher Justin Chen. Chen was lifted for reliever Dylan Smith who threw a pickoff attempt past first base to allow Caruthers to move up to third on the error. Rich Gallugi (So., Peabody, MA/St. John’s Prep) followed with an RBI single through the left side for a 2-0 lead. In the fifth, the Diplomats added another run as Eric Milavsky (Sr., Medford, NJ/Shawnee) singled through the right side and stole second and third base before Gary Kruger (Sr., East Islip, NY/East Islip) lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to bring in Milavsky for a 3-0 lead. The lead grew to 4-0 in the sixth as Frederick singled to left field, stole second base and moved to third on a passed ball. Jon Compitello (Sr., Yardley, PA/George School) walked and stole second base before Gallugi lined a single off the umpire to load the bases. Dan Hanecak (Sr., Conestoga, PA/Lancaster Catholic) grounded in to a 4-6-3 double play to bring in Frederick. The Diplomats closed out the scoring in the seventh against reliever Yoi Tibbets as Milavsky doubled to left field and stole third base before Kruger grounded out to bring him in for the 6-0 final. Milavsky led the Diplomats at the plate going two-for-four with a double, two runs scored and three stolen bases, while Kruger drove in two runs For Swarthmore, Chen took the loss allowing two runs on two hits and three walks with two strikeouts in three innings. Franklin & Marshall (22-8, 12-2 Centennial Conference) will continue the season on April 22 at Muhlenberg College in a Centennial Conference doubleheader. Game time is set for 12:30 p.m.
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