BLUFFTON, Ohio – The Franklin baseball team had their sights set on a conference series win on Saturday (Mar. 29) with two games against the Bluffton Beavers.
Franklin (12-8, 4-3 HCAC) secured the series win with a dominant game one win, blasting the Beavers (4-16, 2-5 HCAC) 16-0 in seven innings. The Beavers held off a Franklin sweep with a 6-3 win in the series' final game.
Game One: Franklin 16 – Bluffton 0 (7 inn.)
Franklin cashed in on a Bluffton error to score in the top of the first and the Grizzlies added two runs in the second thanks to an RBI double from
Dyllan Redmon and an RBI single from
Garrett DeHart. The Grizzlies put the game out of reach wit multiple runs in each of the final four innings.
DeHart and
Luke Willmann each went 3-for-5 with DeHart knocking in three runs. Redmon went 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored from the leadoff spot. The bottom of the Franklin starting lineup had two hits each with
Daniel Cross,
Alex Billman and
Colin Goley turning in multi-hit outings.
Cameron Manuel (2-0) tossed five innings of shutout ball, scattering four hits and striking out three.
Damian Tillie and
Brayton Belcher each logged a scoreless frame in relief.
Game Two: Bluffton 6 – Franklin 3
Andrew Wallace kicked off the scoring in game two by knocking in
Josh Girvan with a double in the top of the first. Bluffton added a run in their half of the first and added two more in the second, but Willmann cut the lead in half in the top of the fourth with an RBI single to make it 3-2 Beavers.
The game's big blow came in the bottom of the fourth with a two-out, three-run double for the Beavers. DeHart knocked in a run with a single in Franklin's half of the fifth, but the Grizzlies couldn't cash in despite putting runners in scoring position in the sixth, eighth and ninth innings.
DeHart and Willmann each went 2-for-4 at the plate to lead the offense.
Luke Harmon (1-2) got the start and tossed four innings of eight-hit ball with two strikeouts.
Brayden Marrow was brilliant over the final four innings on the mound, allowing one hit and striking out two.
Up Next
Franklin hits the road for a non-conference game on Tuesday (Apr. 1) afternoon, traveling to Sauget, Ill. to take on the Webster Gorloks. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m.