BLUFFTON, Ohio – The Franklin baseball team kicked off a three-game conference series on Friday (Mar. 28) night, facing off with the Bluffton Beavers in game one.
 
The Grizzlies (11-7, 3-2 HCAC) got their weekend series started with a win, using a four-run fourth inning to take command before pulling away from the Beavers (3-15, 1-4 HCAC) late in a 14-4 eight-inning win.
 
Franklin got their ice-breaker with two outs in the third inning, with Josh Girvan lacing an RBI single into left field and scoring Dyllan Redmon to tie the game at 1-1. The Beavers took the lead with a run in their half of the inning, but Franklin claimed the lead for good in their next trip to the plate.
 
Alex Billman drew a bases loaded walk to tie the game at 2-2 and Redmon put Franklin in front with a sac fly two batters later. Girvan followed with an RBI double to make it 4-2 with and Billman came in to score on a wild pitch to close out the frame.
 
Franklin added runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to stretch their lead to 8-4. The top of the eighth saw the Grizzlies plate six runs, with Ian Nuckles' second home run of the year highlighting the offensive outburst. Three outs in the bottom of the inning triggered the run rule, giving the Grizzlies a game one win.
 
Girvan paced the offense by going 3-for-5 with two RBI and two more stolen bases, giving him 21 on the year. Redmon knocked in three runs while Nuckles and Billman both had two hits and two RBI each.
 
On the mound, Matthew Johnson (2-1) powered through seven innings of six-hit ball, giving up two earned runs and striking out six.
 
The two teams will be back at it for two games on Saturday (Mar. 29) afternoon, with first pitch of the double-header set for 1:00 p.m.