FRANKLIN – The Franklin College baseball team opened up Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) play on Saturday (Mar. 22) against last season's regular season and tournament champions, the Hanover Panthers.
The Grizzlies (10-5, 2-0 HCAC) passed their first test of the conference slate, sweeping the Panthers (4-11, 0-2 HCAC) with a 12-6 win in game one and a 10-8 victory in game two. Franklin extended their winning streak to five games overall and continued their mastery of the Panthers on their home turf, winning 11 of their last 12 meetings with Hanover at McDowell Field.
Game One: Franklin 12 – Hanover 6
The Panthers plated the game's first four runs while the Franklin offense struggled to get going in the first four innings.
Garrett DeHart got the Grizzlies on the board with a sac fly in the fifth and Franklin got two more runs in the sixth to cut Hanover's lead to 4-3.
Hanover added another run in the seventh, but Franklin broke out with an eight-run frame in the bottom of the inning to put the game out of reach.
Ian Nuckles had the inning's big hit with a three-run triple that put Franklin in front. DeHart added a two-run single later in the inning, with the Grizzlies scoring five runs with two outs following a pair of Panther errors.
DeHart and
Josh Girvan had three hits each while Nuckles and
Luke Willmann collected two hits apiece.
Matthew Johnson got the game one start and allowed two earned runs over six innings with six strikeouts.
Will Butts (3-0) fanned four over the final three frames while giving up one earned run to earn the win.
Game Two: Franklin 10 – Hanover 8
The Grizzlies drew four walks in their first trip to the dish and came away from the inning with a 2-0 lead. Hanover claimed their first lead with a three-run fourth inning but Franklin got back to even in the bottom of the frame thanks to a double steal that saw
Daniel Cross sprint home to make it a 3-3 game.
The game stayed tied until the bottom of the sixth when the Grizzlies pounced on Hanover's bullpen for four runs. DeHart knocked in the go-ahead run with a sac fly while Willmann and Nuckles brought home runs with RBI singles to stretch the lead to 7-3. The Grizzlies added three more in the bottom of the seventh, but Hanover countered with a three-spot of their own in the eighth to cut the lead to 10-6.
Hanover cut that lead in half with a two-out, two-run double and the Panthers loaded the bases later in the inning. But
Mason Campbell ended the threat, forcing a game-ending ground out to finish the sweep.
Nuckles and
Alex Billman had two hits each while Willmann knocked in a team-high three runs.
Dyllan Redmon scored three times and drew three walks, leading a Franklin offense that drew 13 free passes in total.
Cameron Manuel got the start and tossed 3.2 innings before exiting the game. Butts (4-0) capped a busy day on the bump with his second win, logging 2.1 innings of two-hit ball in relief of Manuel.
Up Next
The Grizzlies hit the road on Monday (Mar. 24) for two more HCAC matchups, traveling to Ohio to meet the Mount St. Joseph Lions. First pitch of game one is set for noon.
