GREENWOOD, Ind. – The Franklin baseball team hit the diamond for opening day on Sunday (Feb. 23) afternoon, taking on Concordia Chicago and North Park at Center Grove High School.
The Grizzlies (2-0) got outstanding pitching performances on their way to a pair of wins, besting Concordia 4-3 and taking a 5-2 win over North Park.
Game One: Franklin 4 – Concordia Chicago 3
Andrew Wallace opened the scoring in the bottom of the fourth, smacking a solo home run over the right field wall for an early Franklin lead. The Cougars countered with a run in the fifth to get even, but Franklin jumped right back in front in the bottom of the inning.
Colin Goley and
Dyllan Redmon each drew walks and set the stage for
Garrett DeHart to put the Griz in front for good with a two-out, three-run home run to make it a 4-1 game.
The Grizzlies worked out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the seventh, but the Cougars got back within a run with a two-out, two run home run in the ninth. Concordia would bring the go-ahead run to the plate later in the inning, but
Luke Harmon induced a game-ending pop out to seal the win.
Ian Nuckles went 2-for-4 at the plate and was the only Franklin player to finish with a multi-hit game.
Matthew Johnson (1-0) was sharp on the mound, tossing six innings with nine strikeouts without giving up an earned run. Harmon fanned four over the final three innings, earning his first career save.
Game Two: Franklin 5 – North Park 2
Franklin broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the third inning, with Wallace doing the honors and scoring two with a two-out single. A perfectly executed double steal on the following pitch brought
Luke Willmann home and made it a 3-0 game.
The Vikings got a run back in the fifth while the Franklin bats struggled to add to their lead. That trend ended in the bottom of the eighth with a two-out, two-run single from Nuckles giving Franklin some breathing room and a 5-1 lead. North Park plated a run in the top of the ninth, but
Mason Campbell was able to hold off any further rally attempt.
Junior pitcher
Caden Wilburn was dominant in his first career start, allowing one run on three hits with two walks and nine strikeouts over six innings of work. Campbell slammed the door shut with three innings of one-hit ball in relief, earning the first save of his career.
Up Next
Franklin is back in action next Friday (Feb. 28) when they host the University of Chicago as part of a weekend-long Griz Invitational. The two teams will meet at Bishop Chatard High School in Indianapolis, with first pitch set for noon.
