FRANKLIN, Ind. – The Franklin College baseball team had their sights set on a series win on Saturday (Mar. 7) afternoon, hosting Hope College for two games at John P. McDowell Field.

The Grizzlies (5-3) jumped out to sizeable leads in both games en route to taking the series from the Flying Dutch with a double-header sweep. The Grizzlies scored the game's first eight runs in the opener before taking down the Dutch 10-6. Game two saw the hosts get a stellar pitching effort from freshman Gavin White to take an 8-3 win.

Game One: Franklin 10 – Hope 6
Nick Wright opened the scoring when he knocked in two runs with a first-inning double before scoring later in the inning on a error to put the Grizzlies ahead 3-0. Two innings later, Franklin blew things open with a five-run frame that saw Brandt Pawley, Ryan Bixler and Wright knocking home runs and two errors from the Dutch leading to the big inning.

Hope got on the board in the fourth before Logan Demkovich got the run back with an RBI double in their half of the inning. The Flying Dutch cut Franklin's lead to 9-4 with two runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth. Jarrod Smith led off the sixth with a home run to cap the scoring for the home team.

The Dutch loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh and plated two runs with a single to bring the tying run on deck. But freshman reliever Trevor Spilker held Hope's offense at bay in the inning and tossed two more scoreless frames to earn his first career save.

Mitch Merica (3-0) allowed two earned runs on eight hits with three walks and five strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings, coming just shy of matching his longest career start. Wright, Smtih and Demkovich had three hits each with Wright knocking in a game-high four runs.

Game Two: Franklin 8 – Hope 3
Franklin strung together a two-out rally in the first inning to take control of the second contest. Wright, Alex Mis and Smith all reached base ahead of Demkovich, who knocked in a pair with a single on a play that saw another error allow Smith to come in to score to make it 3-0 after an inning.

Two innings later, Wright and Mis reached to start the inning to bring Smith to the dish and the senior outfielder sent a pitch over the left field wall to double Franklin's lead. The Grizzlies' lead stayed at six until the bottom of the seventh, when Wright capped a stellar day with a lead-off home run to make it 7-0. Pawley capped the scoring in the eighth, swiping home with two outs.

White (2-0) was brilliant in his second career start, tossing five no-hit innings to open the game. The Kokomo, Ind.-native lasted six innings, allowing just one hit with three walks and five strikeouts before turning the game over to Tyler Wick and Alex Reinoehl, who combined to throw the final three innings.

Franklin continues their seven-game homestand on Wednesday (Mar. 11), when they host the Wilmington Quakers for a single nine-inning contest. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m.