Box Score

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The Gettysburg College baseball team met Franklin & Marshall College at the wrong point in the season as the Diplomats, winners of five straight and 11 of 12 coming in, racked up 26 hits en route to an 18-4 victory over the host Bullets in a Centennial Conference game at Kirchhoff Field.

Franklin & Marshall (16-10, 11-2 CC) kicked-started the game with a lead-off double and never looked back, posting three runs in the opening frame and four more in the second to knock Gettysburg (14-18, 6-7 CC) starting pitcher Derek Zaleski (Haddonfield, N.J./Haddonfield) from the contest.

Junior Chris Liegel (Oak Ridge, N.J./Pope John XXIII) entered the game with two outs in the second and kept the hot-hitting Diplomats to just two runs in his first three innings. The visitors finally got to the right-hander in the sixth by loading the bases with one out. Following a sacrifice fly and a walk, a new Bullet pitcher entered the game and was welcomed with a two-run single and a two-run double as Franklin & Marshall finished with five runs in the inning.

Gettysburg picked up its first runs of the game in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI double off the fence in left by senior Matt Stillitano (Ewing, N.J./The Hun School of Princeton) and a run-scoring infield single by senior Sean McGee (Mamaroneck, N.Y./Mamaroneck). The runs ended the Diplomats' shutout streak at 32 1/3 innings.

Franklin & Marshall added four runs in the seventh and eighth innings, while the Bullets ended the day's scoring in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run single to right by junior Scott Vladyka (Stanhope, N.J./Lenape Valley Regional).

Fourteen players recorded hits for the Diplomats, including every positional starter. Patrick O'Reilly led the way with a 4-for-4 effort at the plate and scored four times, while Bill Murray went 4-for-6 with three RBI. Jason Anderson added three RBI to his 2-for-5 effort, while Mark Minutaglio and Tom Miller each drove in three runs.

Vladyka ended the game with three hits in five plate appearances and drove in a pair of runs. Stillitano went 2-for-5 at the dish with a one and an RBI, while McGee added two hits, one run, and one RBI in four at bats.

Dan Tischler (4-3) earned the win for F&M after tossing seven innings with seven hits, two runs, two walks, and three strikeouts. Zaleski fell to 3-4 on the season.

Gettysburg will aim to get back on track with another match up with the Diplomats on Friday, April 18, in Lancaster, Pa. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m.