HAVERFORD, Pa. – For the third time in nine days, Haverford College baseball will take on Franklin & Marshall College when the two teams get together Friday, April 29 at Class of '16 Field. This time, more will be on the line as they square off in the first round of the Centennial Conference championship tournament. First pitch is at 3 p.m.

Haverford, ranked 26th in the most recent American Baseball Coaches Association Division III poll, enters the double-elimination tournament as the two seed with a conference record of 14-4. During the course of the regular season the Fords won a program record 30 games. The Diplomats are seeded third after going 12-6 against the conference (21-16 overall). Franklin & Marshall took the first meeting between the schools, 6-3, on April 21 in Lancaster, Pa. The following day the Fords rattled off a 12-5 home victory.

The winner advances to the winner's bracket game against either Ursinus College or Johns Hopkins University on Saturday, April 30 at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Md., starting at 12:30. The loser faces elimination on Saturday against the loser of the Ursinus/Johns Hopkins game at 9 a.m.

The Fords boast one of the top offenses in the conference. They lead the Centennial in runs scored (273), hits (382), RBIs (245), doubles (79), total bases (551) and stolen bases (135). The team is second in slugging percentage (.452) and home runs (22) and third in batting average (.313). Nationally, the Fords rank fourth in steals.

Charlie Carluccio is the conference leader in batting average (.412), hits (54), RBIs (39), doubles (14) and total bases (82). He is second in runs scored (37) and stolen bases (18) and third in slugging percentage (.626). Carluccio is four hits away from tying Jeff Butera's school record for hits in a season (set in 2010) and one double away from taking the school's single season mark—he is currently tied with Butera. Louis DeRosa is leading the conference, and is 12th nationally, in stolen bases (29). He is also hitting .321 this season.

The Fords' pitching staff is equally as tough as their offense. Haverford is first in the conference in earned run average (ERA) (3.42) and second in opponent batting average (.254), strike outs (224) and saves (10). Colin Serafin has the team's lowest ERA at 2.49, which is fourth in the conference. Bryan Henrick leads the team and the conference with seven wins.

The Diplomats come into the game hitting .301 as a team, which is fifth in the conference. They rank third in runs scored (253), RBIs (221) and on-base percentage (.402.) They are also patient at the plate, leading the conference with 168 walks.

Franklin & Marshall's top offensive threat is Matt Will. Will ranks first in the conference in runs scored (42), on-base percentage (.542) and walks (36). At the plate, he is hitting .370.

The Diplomats' pitching staff is in the top-five in opponent batting average (fourth, .278) and ERA (fifth, 4.90). Their ace is Mike Duranti who leads the team in ERA (2.76), opponent batting average (.236) and wins (five).