WESTFIELD, Ind. – Facing howling winds and temperatures dipping into the spring night, the Franklin College baseball team faced Anderson in two big Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) games on Wednesday (Apr. 6) night at Grand Park.

The opener saw the Grizzlies (18-6, 3-1 HCAC) drop their first league game of the year with the Ravens (11-10, 3-1 HCAC) taking a 10-5 win. Franklin gained a measure of revenge in game two, getting a gem from freshman starter Damian Tillie to take a 9-2 victory.

Game One: Anderson 10 – Franklin 5
Franklin fell behind early but was able to get a run back in the first when a Noah Wood sac fly cut the Ravens' lead to 2-1. Matt Earley singled in a run in the third and Wood would score on a wild pitch in the fifth to bring Franklin even at 3-3.

But four runs for the Ravens across the sixth and seventh innings proved to be too much for the Grizzlies to overcome. Tysen Lipscomb would knock in runs with hits in both the seventh and ninth innings, respectively, to cap the scoring for the home side.

Matthew Johnson (3-2) struck out six over five innings of work as the Franklin starter. Lipscomb, Earley and AJ Sanders all had two hits with Sanders scoring three times.

Game Two: Franklin 9 – Anderson 2
The Ravens took the lead with a second inning run but Franklin would rely on patience at the plate and some savvy baserunning to take their first lead of the day. Three straight runners reached via free pass in the third before Sean Thomas scored on a passed ball and Logan Demkovich singled in a run to make it 2-1 Grizzlies.

Franklin added two more runs in the fifth before recording their first hit of the day, with Peyton Blinn and Thomas coming in to score on wild pitches to make it 4-1. After leaving the bags full in the sixth, the Grizzlies put the game out of reach thanks to a two-run single from Thomas and a three-run double from Demkovich.

It was all in support of Tillie (3-0), who dominated the Ravens over a career-high seven innings of work. Tillie allowed one earned run on eight hits without walking a batter and striking out eight. Alex Reinoehl allowed one hit over the final two innings in relief.

Up Next
The Grizzlies are set to resume conference play on Saturday (Apr. 9) afternoon and a trip to Ohio to take on the Defiance Yellow Jackets. First pitch is set for noon.