FRANKLIN – The Franklin baseball team continued a lengthy homestand on Saturday (Mar. 16) afternoon, hosting the Trine Thunder for the first two games of a three-game weekend series.
 
Franklin (8-4) secured a series win by taking both games from the Thunder (7-5), claiming the opener 12-7 and game two by a 13-10 score.
 
Senior Sean Sullivan continued his early season tear, hitting three more home runs over the two games. Tysen Lipscomb and Colby Reed also went yard for the Grizzlies as they claimed wins two and three in a row.
 
Game One: Franklin 12 – Trine 7
Sullivan broke a scoreless tie in a big way in the bottom of the third, crushing his second grand slam of the young season to open up a 4-0 Griz lead. The Thunder cut into the lead with three runs in the fourth but Franklin put up another four-spot in the bottom of the inning with back-to-back home runs from Lipscomb and Sullivan capping the inning and making it an 8-3 game.
 
Reed led off the sixth with his first home run of the season and Andrew Wallace drove in two with a single later in the inning. Adam Taylor swiped home on a double steal attempt to close the inning and make it 12-7 Grizzlies.
 
Freshman Michael Carter made the lead stick, tossing 3.1 innings worth of four-hit ball without allowing a run for the first save of his career. Matthew Johnson (2-0) earned the win after going 5.1 innings to open the game.
 
Game Two: Franklin 13 – Trine 10
Sullivan continued to torment Thunder pitching right away, belting a two-run homer in the bottom of the first. Wallace drove in his third run of the day on inning later with a sac fly, spotting the Grizzlies a 3-0 lead.
 
Trine took their first lead of the day with five unanswered runs, but Wallace put a halt to their lead with a two-run double in the fourth to tie things up at 5-5. The Grizzlies re-claimed the lead with a five-run fifth, with AJ Sanders driving in three with a bases-clearing double. Franklin added another run in the sixth and two in the seventh, giving them plenty of insurance to close out the game.
 
Luke Harmon (3-1) made the first start of his career, striking out four over five innings of work. Sam Peck recorded the second save of his season with a scoreless ninth inning. Wallace led all players with four RBI in the game, going 2-for-4.
 
Up Next
The two teams close out their weekend three-game set on Sunday (Mar. 17), with one game at McDowell Field. First pitch is set for noon.