FRANKLIN – Behrens Field played host to its first games of the 2024 season on Saturday (Mar. 2) afternoon, with the Franklin softball team welcoming the Wilmington Quakers to town for a double-header.
The Grizzlies (7-1) dominated game one 13-5 in five innings before rallying to take game two from the Quakers (0-2) 10-7 to earn the sweep.
Game One: Franklin 13 – Wilmington 5 (5 inn.)
Franklin put game one out of reach in the first inning, sending 13 batters to the plate and scoring eight times in the first frame.
Kendall Lowry smacked the first home run of her career in the second and Franklin added three runs in the third and a final in the fourth to finish off the scoring.
Lowry went 3-for-3 with three runs knocked in and three runs scored.
Shelby Crockett drove in four runs and
Molly Wallace brought two runners home for the FC offense.
Stephanni Kleber (3-0) got the start in the circle, tossing all five innings with three walks and a pair of strikeouts.
Game Two: Franklin 10 – Wilmington 7
The two teams entered the bottom of the fourth knotted a 2-2 when an sophomore
Brooke Lipperd stepped to the plate with the bags full and two outs. Lipperd, who had yet to record a hit in her Franklin College career and who had just entered the game as a defensive sub, launched the first pitch she saw off the top of the left field wall for a grand slam and a 6-2 Griz lead.
The Quakers would fight back with two in the fifth and three in the sixth to take a 7-6 lead with six outs to go. But Franklin fought back in the bottom of the sixth as a sac fly from Crockett tied the game and
Kaylee Stewart cleared the bags later in the inning with a single to restore a multi-run lead.
Abi Exl (1-0) finished off the seventh to pick up the first win of her career.
Lauren Duncan got the start and tossed five innings that saw her fan five.
Crockett and Stewart knocked in two runs each.
Ruth Kaiser had three hits and scored three times. Lowry went 2-for-2 at the plate and Wagner scored a pair of runs at the top of the lineup.
Up Next
Franklin hits the road next Saturday (Mar. 9), heading to Louisville, Ky. for a double-header with Spalding University. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.
