AUBURNDALE, Fla. - The No. 17 Keystone College baseball program knocked off No. 2 Rowan 5-4 on Friday evening after falling to Franklin & Marshall 2-1 earlier in the day at the RussMatt Invitational.
The Giants (3-3) face No. 25 Wheaton (Mass.) tomorrow at 1:15 p.m. Franklin & Marshall improves to 8-2 while the Profs fall to 2-1 on the year.
F&M 2, No. 17 Keystone 1
The Giants registered six hits against the Diplomats as senior Mohammed Hussein went 2-for-5 at the leadoff spot. Hussein scored the team's lone run on a sacrifice fly by senior Johann Paniagua in the fifth frame.
Hussein earned the starting nod as well and went for eight solid innings, striking out six while allowing just one run on eight hits. Junior Evan Plante and freshman Jordan Montes both appeared out of the bullpen.
Paniagua and junior Adam Kelly both ripped doubles while seniors Anthony Ferezza and Dakota McFadden contributed base knocks.
No. 17 Keystone 5, No. 2 Rowan 4
In a matchup of top-20 teams, the Giants used the long ball three times en route to the one-run victory.
Senior Ronald Medina went yard twice, first with a solo shot in the second inning to give the Giants a 1-0 lead. Trailing 4-3 in the sixth, Medina launched the go-ahead two-run blast to hand Keystone a 5-4 lead in which they would not relinquish.
Junior Nick Carlini also enjoyed a solo homer in the fifth. Medina came through with an RBI groundout in the fourth and finished the night 2-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored.
On the mound, McFadden went the distance, going nine innings while striking out seven Profs. The senior scattered eight hits while walking four.