Franklin, Ind. - The Franklin College baseball team set season highs in hits and runs in Friday's 17-12 series-opening victory over Defiance College from John P. McDowell Field. The Grizzlies tallied 22 hits and moved into sole possession of fourth place in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) standings with the victory.

Franklin (20-12, 11-9 HCAC) scored 10 times in the second inning to seize control of the contest. Seven of the 10 runs were scored with two outs. Sophomore Joe Ardizzone (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli) hit a bases-clearing double to give the hosts a 6-2 advantage. After a walk, junior Tyler Ison (Whiteland, Ind./Whiteland Community) hit a three-run home run during the two-out attack.

Defiance (8-25, 2-18 HCAC) plated three runs in the sixth inning to trim Franklin's lead to 10-5. However, the Grizzlies answered with four runs scored in the bottom half of the inning to once again put the game's outcome out of reach. Ardizzone plated junior Jameson Brock (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) with a single. Senior Rickey DuBois (Mishawaka, Ind./Penn) connected on a two-run double. DuBois tied the single-game school record with three doubles.

Junior Seth Powers (Greenfield, Ind./Greenfield-Central) improved to 4-4 on the season. He struck out five batters in six innings.

Franklin also scored one run in the seventh inning and plated two runs in the eighth inning to complete the scoring.

Individually, sophomore Jason Simpkins (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli) went 4-for-4 with two runs scored. DuBois also added four hits with two runs batted in (RBI). Ardizzone had a team-high four RBI and collected two hits. Sophomore Braden Pelley (Columbus, Ind./Columbus North), junior Mitch Frey (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) and Brock also recorded multiple-hit efforts.

Franklin returns to action on Saturday, April 26 at noon when the two teams conclude the weekend series with a doubleheader. Live statistics of both games will be available here.