FRANKLIN – The Franklin College softball team returned to action at Behrens Field on Saturday (Mar. 16) afternoon, hosting the Kalamazoo Hornets for two games.
 
The Grizzlies (8-2) rallied to tie game one late and win it on a walk-off grand slam from Eriana Wagner in a 6-2, nine-inning win. The Hornets (1-1) got their revenge in the second game, salvaging a split with a 15-6 victory.
 
Game One: Franklin 6 – Kalamazoo 2 (9 inn.)
The Grizzlies fell into an early two-run hole before Kaylee Stewart halved the lead with an RBI single in the third inning. The Hornets would hold that lead until the bottom half of the sixth inning, when freshman Ruth Kaiser came through with a two-out RBI double to tie the game at 2-2.
 
The game stayed tied until the bottom of the ninth when Wagner walked things off with a two-out grand slam, the first walk-off homer of her career.
 
Wagner finished the game going 2-for-5 with two runs scored and those four knocked in. Molly Wallace and Kendall Lowry had two hits each for the Griz offense.
 
Stephanni Kleber got the start in the circle, tossing six inning of six-hit ball with four walks and five strikeouts. Abi Exl (2-0) earned the win after tossing a perfect ninth inning.
 
Game Two: Kalamazoo 15 – Franklin 6
The Hornets jumped out to a 7-0 lead before a two-run double from Shelby Crockett in the fourth got the hosts on the board. Franklin clawed back within striking distance at 9-6 following a four-run fifth, but the Hornets put the game out of reach with four runs of their own in their half of the sixth.
 
Wagner, Kaiser and Crockett all had two hits each with Crockett and Kaiser each driving in a pair of runs. Kamzi Gross (1-1) made the first start of her career in the circle, with Exl and Karrsen Pruitt logging innings in relief.
 
Up Next
The Grizzlies close out the current homestand on Sunday (Mar. 17) with two games against the Aurora Spartans. The first pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.