FRANKLIN, Ind. – The Franklin College baseball team had their eyes set on earning a spot in next weekend's championship field of the 2021 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) baseball tournament and could punch their ticket with a win over Mount St. Joseph on Saturday (May 15).

The Grizzlies (25-12) did just that, earning a spot in the five-team field for the third straight season with an 11-6 win over the Lions (12-27).

A two-out rally in the first inning led to a lead the Grizzlies would hold the rest of the day. With Nick Wright on second base, Tysen Lipscomb roped a single into right center field that scored Wright and gave the Grizzlies a 1-0 lead

One inning later, the lead grew with an error and wild pitch leading to runs, along with an RBI triple from Ryan Bixler that put Franklin up 4-0 with two innings gone. The Mount got a run back in the top of the fourth, but Franklin would respond in the bottom of the inning with two runs scoring on a fielder's choice and Logan Demkovich crushing two-run blast to dead center field that made it 8-1 Franklin.

Quenton Wellington brought a run home with a sac fly in the seventh and Jacob Heuchan plated two with a single in the eighth to cap the scoring for Franklin. The Lions would get two runs in each of the final two innings before time ran out.

Nick McClanahan (6-0) won his third straight start, going six innings allowing three hits and two runs with three strikeouts. Tyler Wick and Jackson Young tag teamed the final three frames in relief. Demkovich and Heuchan led the offense with three hits each as eight of the nine members in the lineup had at least one hit.

Franklin will open the double elimination tournament next Thursday (May 20) as the No. 2 seed and will face third-seeded Earlham in their first game. A full schedule, location and start times will be announced in the coming days.