The Muhlenberg baseball team wrapped up its inaugural season at Bicentennial Park with a doubleheader loss to Franklin & Marshall.
Prior to the twinbill, the Mules honored seniors
Joseph Stern,
JJ Foti,
Evan Virno,
Thomas Pranzo,
Mason Mehling,
Daniel Beagle, and
Shreyas Sekhar (pictured left to right above).
Mehling played a big role in Muhlenberg's biggest inning in the opener, a 17-4 loss. With two on and nobody out, he put down a beautiful bunt that the Diplomat pitcher fielded near the third-base line with no chance to get an out at any base.
The bunt single loaded the bases, after which two walks, a hit batter, and a forceout by Pranzo brought in four runs and gave the Mules (11-25, 6-12) a 4-1 lead. F&M, however, scored two runs in each of the next two innings and put the game out of reach with three four-run frames in the final four innings.
In the second game, Mehling and Sekhar both threw out runners attempting to score on fly balls, Mehling from right field and Sekhar from left.
Muhlenberg fell behind 5-0 in the first two innings and faced a large deficit most of the game until scoring four runs in the bottom of the seventh - two coming in on a double by Pranzo - to close to within 8-6.
The Diplomats (22-15-1, 8-9-1) squashed any hopes of a Mule comeback by scoring nine times in the ninth inning and won, 17-7.
Foti starting an inning-ending double play from third base in the opener, while Virno pitched in the first game and played first base in the second. Stern pitched in the second game, and Beagle, who has an arm injury, was listed as the starting pitcher in the nightcap and tossed in one pitch before being removed to an ovation from both teams.
Sophomore
Sean Habeeb went 3-for-6 in the doubleheader to finish the season with a team-leading .406 batting average. His 56 hits tied for the ninth-most in a season in program history, while his 42 runs scored tied for the sixth-most.
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