INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Franklin College baseball team opened a weekend series with Hope College on Friday (Mar. 4) afternoon, with the first of three games between the two sides.

The Grizzlies (3-1) raced out to an early lead but a big sixth inning from the Flying Dutch (3-0) set the stages for a wild game. A four-run Hope ninth inning proved to be the difference with the visitors winning 14-13.

How it Happened
The Grizzlies opened the scoring thanks to a two-run double from Andrew Wallace in the bottom of the first. Franklin continued to torment Hope pitching early on and took a 7-2 lead into the top of the sixth.

Hope's bats came alive in the sixth, scoring eight runs to take their first lead of the day. Franklin drew even in their half of the frame thanks to back-to-back homers from Noah Wood and Wallace and an RBI single from AJ Sanders that tied the game at 10.

One inning later, the Grizzlies were back in front when freshman Matthew Earley clubbed a three-run homer to give FC a run in seven straight innings. But the lead wouldn't hold thanks to four runs by Hope in the final inning.

Inside the Box Score
-Wallace had a massive afternoon at the plate, going 4-for-6 with the first two homers of his career and four RBI.
-Earley and Wood also delivered their first home runs and Logan Demkovich also went yard for Franklin.
-Nick McClanahan got his second start of the year, striking out seven over 4 2/3 innings before being lifted. Tyler Wick and Alex Reinoehl (0-1) combined to toss the final 4 1/3 innings.

Up Next
The Grizzlies and Flying Dutch are back at it on Saturday (Mar. 5) for a pair of games at Beech Grove HS. First pitch is set for noon.