FRANKLIN, Ind. – The Franklin softball team picked up two wins they had to have on Wednesday (Apr. 26) afternoon, sweeping Rose-Hulman in a mid-week conference double header.
 
Franklin (23-11, 6-4 HCAC) got all they could handle from the Engineers (6-22, 0-12 HCAC) in both contests before pulling away late to win by scores of 9-4 and 6-2.
 
Game One: Franklin 9 – Rose-Hulman 4
Early on it was the Engineers bringing the fight to the home side, with Rose scoring three times in the top of the second and notching seven base hits in the first two frames. The Grizzlies got on the board in the second thanks to a run scoring on an error and Franklin took their first lead of the day with a three-run third courtesy of a Molly Wallace sac fly and a two-run single from Ravyn McClaren.
 
The Engineers tied the game in the fourth but Franklin took the lead for good in the fifth with Eriana Wagner roping an RBI double into the left center gap and Kaylee Stewart driving in a run with a perfectly placed bunt single to make it 6-4.
 
Franklin put the game out of reach in the sixth, getting a sac fly from Wagner and having two runs come in to score on Engineer mistakes.
 
McClaren and Sydney Bostic each had two hits while Wagner and McClaren knocked in two runs each. Wallace led all players with three runs scored. Sydney Pitts (8-7) picked up the win, going the distance with one walk and two strikeouts in the circle.
 
Game Two: Franklin 6 – Rose-Hulman 2
Two first inning Rose errors led to a pair of runs for the Grizzlies but the Engineers got back to even with a pair of two-out runs of their own in the top of the second. The game remained tied until the bottom of the fourth when Sydney Rodeghier ripped a double into the left field corner, scoring Kaylee Stewart from first. Rodeghier came home to score later in the inning on an RBI ground out from Annie Kluemper.
 
Kluemper gave the Griz some insurance in the bottom of the sixth, singling home two runs with a perfectly placed ball down the right field line. Two singles to lead off the Rose seventh brought the tying run to the on-deck circle, but the next three Rose batters were set down in order to finish things out.
 
Rodeghier went 3-for-3 at the plate with three runs scored while Stewart and Genesis Munoz had two hits each. In the circle, Stephanni Kleber (12-4) scattered eight hits, walked two and fanned one to earn the victory.
 
Up Next
Franklin hits the road this Saturday (Apr. 29) for two games in Ohio against the Defiance Yellow Jackets. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.