KOKOMO, Ind. – Two members of the Franklin College baseball program set new single-season program records on Wednesday (May 4) and the Grizzlies secured a spot in the 2022 conference tournament with a split against the Earlham Quakers.

Game one saw sophomore AJ Sanders set the new single-season program record for stolen bases and had senior closer Alex Reinoehl become the new leader for saves in a season. Franklin (26-12, 11-5 HCAC) rallied from five runs down to take the opener 13-9. The Quakers (22-10, 11-5 HCAC) salvaged a split with an 8-4 win in game two.

Sanders now sits at 27 stolen bases on the year, breaking the 34-year school record of 25 held by Dan Molden since 1998. Reinoehl nailed down his ninth save of the year in the opener, passing former teammate Nate Stonebraker's previous record of eight set back in 2019.

Game One: Franklin 13 – Earlham 9
Facing a 6-1 deficit going to the bottom of the fifth, the Grizzlies started their rally when Case Starkey led off the frame with his first career home run. Sean Sullivan, Logan Demkovich and Tysen Lipscomb would drive in runs later in the inning to cut the Earlham lead to 6-5.

Starkey knotted things up with a lead-off home run in the sixth, setting the table for a six-run frame that put Franklin up for good. Demkovich and Matt Earley added RBI singles later in the inning and Lipscomb dealt the Quakers a critical blow with a three-run blast that made it 11-6.

Starkey plated two more in the eighth with a two-run single to cap the scoring. Reinoehl took over with a three-run lead in the eighth and made it stick for the record-setting save. He also moved into a tie with Stonebraker for second on the all-time saves list with 12.

Lipscomb and Starkey both drove in four runs with Starkey's three hits a career-high for a game. Mitch Merica (3-1) earned the win with one inning of work in relief of starter Jackson Young.

Game Two: Earlham 8 – Franklin 4
Lipscomb stayed hot in game two, clubbing a two-run home run in the fourth to draw the Grizzlies to 3-2. However, a four-run sixth inning for the Quakers proved a hole too big to climb out of. Earley and Lipscomb both drove in runs in the sixth, but the Grizzlies would net just one hit over the final three innings.

Matthew Johnson (3-4) struck out five over 5.2 innings of work. Chris Foote and Tyler Wick combined to throw 3.1 innings in relief without surrendering an earned run.

Up Next
Franklin brings the regular season to a close on Saturday (May 7), when they travel to Hanover for two meetings with the Panthers. First pitch is set for noon.