by Joe Yamulla || Assistant Sports Editor
So far, it has been quite an impressive season for F&M’s baseball and softball teams. The baseball team has an overall record of 15-6, having won two straight games. The softball team also is keeping up with the winning ways on the diamond as they currently stand at 15-3. Both teams have their eyes set on success for the rest of the Spring and in the Centennial Conference Tournament. The baseball team is not only winning, but they are scoring runs at an extremely high level, putting forth great starts on the mound, and playing exceptional defense. In 21 games, they have scored 177 runs, with a team batting average of .332. They are also patient at the plate, as they are taking walks and finding ways to get on base. This discipline shows in the team on base percentage of .409. The team’s offense firepower has been flaunted in games such as their matchup in Florida against Southern Vermont where they won by the score of 23-6 on March 17. They also scored 10 runs against McDaniel on March 28th and won 10-4. Recently, on April 9th, they scored 17 runs on Messiah and finished the route 17-6. Freshman Dan Marano leads the team in batting average and RBIs, hitting .380 with 19 runs batted in. On the mound, Alex Guerra boasts the lowest ERA on the team at 1.16. He also is the co-team leader in wins with 3 alongside Sean Cosgriff and Mack Glavin. Guerra is the lone leader in strikeouts with 18. Brett Poniros is the team leader in stolen bases with 12, while David Iacobucci has the most home-runs at 2, and Andrew Mascis leads the team with 2 saves. If the Diplomats continue to get this strong play from their core players, they can certainly make a run at the postseason tournament. The softball team earned its winning record of 15-3 so far by strong all-around play. Their team batting average is .328, and their on base percentage is .404. Also, their strong pitching is evident through the fact that they have never given up more than 5 runs to any opponent. The only time they even gave up 5 was in a 6-5 win over Ursinus on March 29. Crystal Good leads the team in batting average at .379, she also heads in runs batted in with 19. Isabel Schaefer leads the team in pitching statistics with the best ERA of 1.96, most wins at 7, and most strikeouts at 58. Katie Wenger and Megan Ryan both have 2 home-runs and Melissa Bollmeyer has the most stolen bases with 8. The softball team is not only having a successful season, they are setting themselves up for years of success. 10 out of their 14 players on the roster are freshmen. This team is both young and incredibly talented, and is determined to turn heads every time that they step on the field this season. It is a good spring to follow F&M baseball and softball. As the weather finally warms up, students are highly encouraged to head down to the fields to enjoy both teams’ winning ways. It would be an incredible accomplishment if both baseball and softball teams are able to capture the elusive Centennial Conference Championship this season. Joe Yamulla is the Assistant Sports Editor. His email is jyamulla@fandm.edu.