AURORA, Ill. – The Franklin College softball team hit the road on Saturday (Mar. 22) for two non-conference meetings with the Aurora Spartans.
The Grizzlies (6-3) came away from the day with a split, falling in the opener 10-2 before rallying in the seventh inning to earn a 7-5 comeback win in the second contest.
Game One: Aurora 10 – Franklin 2 (6 inn.)
Facing a two-run deficit after two innings, Franklin got back to even in the top of the third thanks to a two-out, two-run single from
Karrsen Pruitt. The Grizzlies finished the opening contest with 11 hits, but stranded 10 runners and couldn't plate any more after Pruitt's single while the Spartans pounced with multi-run showings in the third, fourth and sixth frames.
Eriana Wagner went 3-for-4 with a run scored while Pruitt,
Molly Wallace and
Ruth Kaiser all had two hits.
Game Two: Franklin 7 – Aurora 5
The Grizzlies opened the scoring in game two with Wallace singling home Wagner in the first, but Aurora claimed the lead with two runs in their first trip to the plate. The bottom of the Franklin lineup came up big in the fourth inning, with
Kaylee Rhoton and
McKenna Lucas recording back-to-back RBI hits to put the Grizzlies up 3-2.
Aurora went back in front with a three-run triple in the bottom of the sixth, putting the Grizzlies behind 5-3 with just three outs left to work with. The Grizzlies loaded the bases with one out and Kaiser brought the Grizzlies even with a single to right field, plating Wallace and Pruitt in the process. Lucas put the Grizzlies in front with a sac fly and
Hadley Fuhrman added an insurance run with an RBI single to cap the four-run frame.
Zoey Kugelman (2-1) made the lead stick, setting the Spartans down in order in the bottom of the inning. Kugelman went the distance and finished with four strikeouts to claim the win.
Every member of the Franklin starting lineup finished with at least one hit, with Pruitt's three topping all players. Fuhrman, Wagner, Kaiser, Rhoton, Lucas and
Olivia Staigl all recorded two hits as the Grizzlies racked up 16 base-knocks on the day.
Up Next
The Grizzlies are off until next Saturday (Mar. 29), when they open conference play on the road against the Earlham Quakers. First pitch of game one is set for 1:00 p.m.
