CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Franklin baseball team jumped on Mount St. Joseph early and often on Sunday (Apr. 16) afternoon, finishing off a three-game weekend sweep of their conference rival.
 
The Grizzlies (21-7, 10-1 HCAC) scored five times in the first inning and never looked back, doubling up the Lions (12-14, 2-10 HCAC) 14-7. Jonathan LaGuire and Anthony Smith had three hits each and combined to drive in seven of Franklin's runs as FC opened up a two-game lead in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) race.
 
Noah Wood opened the scoring in the first with a sac fly and LaGuire followed with an RBI single to make it 2-0. Smith doubled the lead with a single later in the inning and Adam Taylor's RBI single capped the Griz' first trip to the plate. LaGuire continued his torrid power surge at the plate in the second with a two-run home run, giving him five long balls over five games this week.
 
Colby Reed doubled in a run in the third to make it 8-1 Franklin but the Lions got back within striking distance with a four-run third. Franklin held their three-run lead until the sixth when they put the game away with a four-run frame on a two-run double from Wood, sac fly from Dyllan Redmon and AJ Sanders getting hit by a pitch with the bags full. Smith punctuated the scoring with another two-run single in the seventh.
 
LaGuire and Smith each went 3-for-5 at the plate and combined with Wood, the 3-5 spots in the Franklin lineup drove in 10 of Franklin's runs. LaGuire scored four times on the afternoon and Tysen Lipscomb scored three runs for the Griz.
 
Noah Bennington (2-1) earned the win after tossing three innings of relief ball where he gave up one unearned run on two hits. Will Butts, Gavin White, Mason Rohlman and Reed Shaffer all worked an inning in relief.
 
Franklin is off until next Saturday (Apr. 22) when they open a critical three-game series with the Rose-Hulman Engineers. The two teams will play two at McDowell Field with first pitch set for noon.