FRANKLIN, Ind. – The Franklin baseball team polished off a three-game sweep of the Hanover Panthers on Monday (Apr. 3) afternoon with a 13-11 win over their league rivals at John P. McDowell Field.
 
The Grizzlies (15-6, 5-1 HCAC) clubbed 15 hits total with five players recording multi-hit outings and the pitching staff held off a late Hanover (7-14, 1-5 HCAC) rally to preserve their sixth straight victory overall.
 
Down by a pair in the first, Franklin knotted things up with a pair of runs in their first trip to the plate with a Matt Earley RBI double followed by an RBI fielders choice. Hanover took the lead back with four runs in the second but Franklin clawed back and took their first lead of the day with five runs in the third. Tysen Lipscomb and Earley smacked back-to-back home runs followed by an RBI double from Jonathan LaGuire and a two-run single from Colby Reed that made it 7-6.
 
LaGuire knocked in another run with a double in the fourth but the Panthers jumped back in front with a three-run sixth frame. Dyllan Redmon ripped an RBI triple off the wall in left center field to tie things up at nine with three innings to play, setting up another thrilling finish.
 
The Grizzlies took the lead for good with a four-run seventh inning, scoring two runs on wild pitches, getting a bases loaded walk from Redmon and a sac fly from Reed that capped Franklin's offensive output. The Panthers plated one run in both the eighth and ninth frames and bad the go-ahead run at the plate with one out in the ninth. But Maddox Manes slammed the door shut on the comeback bid with a strikeouts and a pop up to nail down his third save of the year.
 
Earley had three hits to lead the offense while Reed, Lipscomb, Redmon, LaGuire and Anthony Smith all had two hits. In addition to his two RBI doubles, LaGuire (1-0)earned the win after tossing 2.2 innings in relief.
 
Franklin hits the road on Saturday (Apr. 8) for a double-header with the Anderson Ravens. First pitch is set for noon.