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LANCASTER, PA – The Franklin & Marshall College baseball team will seek its third Centennial Conference title this weekend as the Diplomats host the 2006 Centennial Conference playoffs at Caplan Field. The playoffs will begin on May 5 as third-seed Ursinus College (18-17, 11-7 Centennial Conference) will host fourth-seed Haverford College (20-17, 11-7 Centennial Conference) in a single elimination playoff game at 3:45 p.m. The winner will advance to face second-seed and #18 nationally ranked Johns Hopkins University (28-8-2, 14-3-1 Centennial Conference) at Caplan Field on May 6 at 11:00 a.m. in a single elimination game, before the winner of the game faces the top-seed #13 nationally ranked Diplomats (26-9, 16-2 Centennial Conference) in a best of three series. On May 6, game one of the Centennial Conference championship series will begin at approximately 2:30 p.m., with game two and three (if necessary) set for noon and approximately 3:00 p.m. starts on May 7. Admission is free to all games. The tournament’s champion will earn the CC’s automatic bid to the 2006 NCAA Division III regional tournament. The NCAA field will be announced on May 14. It marks the second time that Franklin & Marshall will host the championship playoffs as the Diplomats knocked off Johns Hopkins last year in three games to win the program’s second Centennial Conference baseball title. Further, it marks the second time that the title will not be decided at Johns Hopkins as the Blue Jays had won the top-seed and the tournament title in the previous tournaments (2002, 2003, 2004) prior to F&M’s title in 2005. The Diplomats are making their fourth 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. In 2004, the #2 seed Diplomats advanced to the title series for the first time in school history as first baseman Gordie Eck ‘04 blasted a two run homerun with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to lead the Diplomats to a 5-4 win over Ursinus College in the semifinals. In the championship series, Johns Hopkins recorded 18-15 and 17-9 wins to win the championship. Last year, the Diplomats defeated Johns Hopkins 1-0 in game one as pinch hitter Jeff Rowand (Jr., York, PA/Dallastown) doubled down the right field line to drive in catcher Stephen Frederick (Sr., Downingtown, PA/Downingtown) in the bottom of the ninth inning, dropped game two 9-1 and won the title as second baseman Tom Miller (So., York, PA/Central York) drove a pitch into centerfield to score pinch runner Andy Anderson from second base with the winning run in a 4-3 game three victory. The championship marked the third in school history as the 1978 Diplomats won the Middle Atlantic Conference title and the 1995 team captured the Centennial Conference crown. Tied with Johns Hopkins for second in the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Mid-Atlantic Region poll, the Diplomats have been potent at the plate as the team has a .325 batting average with 241 runs, 63 doubles, 11 triples, 12 homeruns and 143 walks. Second baseman Rob Stern (So., Franklin Lakes, NJ/Indian Hills), centerfielder Eric Milavsky (Sr., Medford, NJ/Shawnee) and third baseman Gary Kruger (Sr., East Islip, NY/East Islip) lead the team at the plate. Stern tops the team in batting average (.425), while Kruger leads in hits (57), triples (six), RBI (34), total bases (86) and slugging percentage (.637) and Milavsky is tops in runs (36), doubles (11) and stolen bases (21).
On the mound, Franklin & Marshall has a 2.80 earned run average and has been led by the trio of Matt Metsch (Fr., East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick), Jeremy Knox (Sr., Bronx, NY/Iona Prep) and Ted Serro (Sr., Brooklyn, NY/Xavier). The 2006 F&M Senior Male Athlete of the Year, Serro is 6-3 with a 1.71 earned run average and 67 strikeouts in 63 innings this year, while Metsch is 6-0 with a 1.25 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 43.1 innings of work. Knox leads the team in victories as he is 9-1 with a 2.44 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 70.0 innings to anchor a staff which has allowed 83 walks and struck out 212 batters this year, an average of 2.55 strikeouts per walk allowed. The Diplomats enter the championships with a 5-1 record against the three other competing schools as Franklin & Marshall split with Johns Hopkins (2-0 W, 7-6 L) on the road, and swept Ursinus (5-1 W, 12-0 W) and Haverford (4-1 W, 9-1 W) in home-and-home series. Second-seed Johns Hopkins will look to win the program’s eighth Centennial Conference title as the Blue Jays won the 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 crowns. Hopkins is led at the plate by designated hitter Rob Pietroforte who is hitting .447 (55-for-123) with eight doubles, four triples, five homeruns, 38 runs, 38 RBI, 17 walks and a .699 slugging percentage, while rightfielder Gary Rosenberg is hitting .393 (53-for-135) with nine doubles, three homeruns, 20 runs, 34 RBI, four walks and a .526 slugging percentage. Left-hander Jim Flannery has led the Blue Jays pitching staff going 7-1 record in 10 starts with 42 strikeouts and a 4.47 ERA in 48.1 innings. Jason Thayer is 5-1 on the year with a 2.19 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 53.1 innings, while Ryan Kuhlman is 5-0 with a 4.02 and 52 strikeouts in 47 innings and Patrick Steffee is 4-2 with a 1.19 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 37.2 innings of work. The 1996, 1999 and 2000 Centennial Conference champions, third-seed Ursinus will make its fourth appearance in the championship playoffs as the Bears earned the second seed in 2003 and garnered the third seed in 2002 and 2004, and will look to make their first ever appearance in the championship series as Muhlenberg ended the Bears playoff drive in 2003 and 2002, while Eck’s homer in 2004 ended the Bears’ season. First baseman David Randolph leads the Bears at the plate hitting .389 (37-for-95) with seven doubles, 20 runs, 19 RBI, 14 walks and a .463 slugging percentage, while shortstop Tommy Herrman is hitting .315 (39-for-124) with two doubles, three triples, 28 runs, 15 RBI, 16 walks and a .379 slugging percentage. On the mound, Ryan Smieth has been the Bears’ ace going 6-2 with a 1.82 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 59.1 innings. Another pitcher to watch is Zeb Engle who comes into the championships with a 3-4 record and a 6.83 ERA, but has struck out 60 batters in 54 innings this year with a pair of saves. Fourth-seed Haverford College will make its second appearances in the tournament in the five-year history of the championship format as the Fords knocked off Gettysburg College in Haverford last year and fell to Johns Hopkins 7-1 in the semifinals at Caplan Field. First baseman Tim McLean leads the Fords at the plate hitting .404 (46-for-114) with 11 doubles, a triple, eight homeruns, 29 runs, 28 RBI, 30 walks and a .728 slugging percentage, while shortstop Ben Einbinder is hitting .347 (41-for-118) with 12 doubles, a triple, nine homeruns, 31 runs, 35 RBI, 15 walks and a .695 slugging percentage. Travis Zier leads the pitching staff with a 5-3 record and 2.75 ERA as he has struck out 43 and walked 26 in 55.2 innings. Look for John Castronova to come into games late for the Fords as he has a 4.21 ERA and a 4-3 record with 31 strikeouts and two saves in 47.0 innings of work. Directions to Caplan Field are available on the Franklin & Marshall College website at wwwdevel.fandm.edu/departments/Athletics/directions.html
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