FRANKLIN, IND. (May 7, 2017) – Franklin College softball defeated Defiance College in Sunday's elimination game to advance to the 2017 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Softball Tournament Championship, but fell short against Transylvania to finish second in the tournament.

Behind a 14 hit attack, the Franklin College softball team won their first game of the day against Defiance College 5-2.

Baylea Lyons and Shelby Mager each recorded 3 hits in the victory. Alexis Tarver and Megan Lalioff each posted doubles for the Grizzlies. 

Bailey Lindamood earned the win giving up five hits and two runs to the Yellow Jackets.

Sunday's win against Defiance advanced the Grizzlies to the 2017 HCAC Championship game against Transylvania. The Pioneers defeated Franklin 6-3 in the championship game held at Anderson University.

The Grizzlies gained an early 3-1 lead on the Pioneers scoring three runs in the bottom of the third inning. However, Transy responded with a pair of runs in the fifth inning to tie the game at 3-3 and added two more runs in the sixth to take the lead 5-3. The Pioneers were too much for Franklin scoring one more run in the top of the seventh to ultimately earn the HCAC title.

Senior Baylea Lyons led the offense for the Grizzlies finishing 3-for-3 with one RBI. Her performance in the HCAC tournament ultimately earned her a spot on the 2017 Softball HCAC All-Tournament Team. Teammates Grace Paszek and Megan Lalioff also were named to the all-tournament team