FRANKLIN, Ind. – The Franklin College softball team welcomed the Spalding Golden Eagles to Behrens Field on Thursday (Apr. 21) evening for a pair of non-conference matchups.

The two teams packed plenty of drama into the four-plus hour double-header. Game one saw Franklin (16-13) score three times in the seventh to earn a walk-off 7-6 win while the night cap saw the Golden Eagles (16-14) hold off another seventh inning FC rally and hold on for a 6-4 win.

Game One: Franklin 7 – Spalding 6
The Grizzlies busted out the lumber in their first trip to the plate, scoring four times to take an early lead. Genesis Munoz' RBI single opened the scoring with an RBI double from Molly Wallace and a two-run single from Makayla Plymale putting the home side up 4-0.

However, the Grizzlies couldn't replicate that success over the next five innings and Spalding would go on to score twice in the third, fifth and seventh innings to take a 6-4 lead into Franklin's final at-bat.

The offense wasted no time waking back up, with back-to-back doubles from Annie Kluemper and Shelby Crockett opening the inning and cutting the deficit in half. Munoz tied things up with her second RBI single of the day two batters later, Plymale walked it off when she dumped a single into left field, scoring Sydney Bostic to cap the comeback.

Plymale finished the day 4-for-4 with three runs knocked in, recording her first career four-hit game. Crockett and Bostic scored two times each while Munoz and Wallace both had a pair of hits.

Sydney Pitts (8-3) battled in the circle to earn her fifth straight win, allowing four earned runs on 11 hits with no walks and four strikeouts.

Game Two: Spalding 6 – Franklin 4
The Golden Eagles jumped out to a 5-0 lead before Munoz broke the scoreless drought with an RBI single in the fifth. Kluemper plated Savannah Shadday in the sixth with an RBI double, cutting the deficit to 6-2 going into the final inning.

The Grizzlies cut the deficit in half in the seventh thanks to a two-run single from Shadday, the first RBIs of her career. But the Eagles avoided further damage and closed out the win with the tying run at the plate with a strikeout of Samanthan Cornelius to end the game.

Kluemper went 3-for-4 at the plate while Crockett, Munoz and Shadday all chipped in with two hits. Stephanni Kleber (5-7) set a new career-high with 10 strikeouts over 5.1 innings of work, marking the first time this year a Grizzly pitcher has hit double digit strikeouts.

Up Next
The Grizzlies are back in conference play on Saturday (Apr. 23) afternoon, traveling north for a pair of games with the Manchester Spartans. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.