FRANKLIN – The Franklin College softball team closed out a lengthy homestand on Sunday (Mar. 17) afternoon, taking on the Aurora Spartans in a pair of games at Behrens Field.
After dropping the opener 9-2, the Grizzlies (9-3) rallied to beat a tough Spartans (11-2) team in a thrilling second game, winning 7-6 in the bottom of the ninth.
Game One: Aurora 9 – Franklin 2
The Grizzlies grabbed the lead in the first on a
Molly Wallace sac fly and
Eriana Wagner made it 2-1 in the third inning with her second home run of the inning, belting a solo shot over the right field wall.
But the Spartans kept the Grizzlies' in check the rest of the way and Aurora tied the game in the fourth and put it out of reach with a seven-run fifth frame. Franklin managed just three hits over the last four innings.
Wagner and
Shelby Crockett had two hits each for the Grizzlies.
Stephanni Kleber (3-1) got the start and went 4.2 innings before turning it over to
Abi Exl, with the latter allowing one hit over the final 2.1 frames.
Game Two: Franklin 7 – Aurora 6 (9 inn.)
Junior
Molly Wallace opened the scoring in the bottom of first, crushing a two-run home run. Three innings later,
Shelby Crockett added to the lead with a sac fly and Franklin held a 3-0 lead with four innings down.
The Spartans drew even in their half of the fifth, but Franklin responded with three runs in half of the frame, ending with a two-run single from
Kendall Lowry that made it 6-3. Aurora battled back with three in the sixth and was threatening in the seventh, but
Lauren Duncan worked out of the jam to send the game to extras.
Aurora left the bases loaded in the eighth and Franklin made their guests pay in the ninth.
Ruth Kaiser led off the inning with a double and moved to third on a sac bunt. That brought
Hadley Fuhrman to the plate with a chance to win the game, and she rolled a pitch over to second base that allowed Kaiser to race home for the walk-off win.
Lowry and Kaiser had two hits each and seven different Franklin players crosse home plate in the game. Duncan (4-1) went the distance in the circle, giving up two earned runs with a pair of strikeouts and three walks.
Up Next
Franklin is off until Mar. 27, when they hit the road for a pair of games with Saint Mary's College. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m.
