AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The Franklin & Marshall baseball team split a double-header baseball game with St. Joseph (Me.) at the Russ Matt Invitational Monday afternoon. The Monks (2-2) took the first game 7-6 and the Diplomats (3-5) picked up a 12-8 victory in the second contest.

Connor Devlin led the offense in the opener with a 2-for-3 performance at plate and two RBIs. Matt Will finished with two runs on 1-for-3 hitting.

The Monks built a 5-1 advantage heading into the bottom of the fourth. F&M answered with five runs in the bottom of the frame to take a 6-5 lead.

Eric Bornstein led off the fourth with a single while Avery Attinson and Kevin Shields walked to load the bases. Josh Mendelson single in the next at-bat plating Bornstein.  A balk and a passed ball by St. Joseph got two more runs on the board for the Diplomats. Devlin hit a single to left field to bring Will Benenson and Matt Will across the plate for the final two runs of the inning.

The Monks answered with two runs in the top of fifth to take a 7-6 edge. F&M could not mount a comeback and remained hitless through the final three innings.

Josh Gray took loss in five innings of work. Andrew Devereaux picked up the victory for St. Joseph.

The Diplomats used a four-run second to take the lead and never looked back for the 12-8 victory in the second game.

Will went 2-for-3 with four runs and a RBI. Blue Wells, Zach Honecker and Benenson all finished with two runs batted in.

F&M found itself in an early 4-1 deficit through the first inning of play before answering with four runs in the second. Mike Amabile walked to start off the frame and Honecker reached on an error. Will singled in the next at-bat and advanced to third on an error, clearing the bases for two runs. Devlin plated Will with a single down the left field line for the third run of inning. Wells hit a triple down the right field line to score Devlin for a 5-4 F&M advantage.

The Diplomats tacked on three more runs in the fourth and added a run in the sixth and seventh inning for a 10-6 lead. F&M added two insurance runs in the seventh and were matched by the Monks with two in the bottom of the frame.

Bobby Hayes (1-1) picked up the victory for F&M. Hayes worked four innings and allowed five earned runs. He induced five groundouts and picked up one strike out. Jimmy Kennedy took the loss for the Monks.

F&M continues its spring break trip with a double-header against Lawrence tomorrow. The first game will start at 9:30 am followed by the second at 12 noon.