FRANKLIN – The Franklin College baseball team collected a critical double-header sweep of league-leading Anderson on Friday (Apr. 18) afternoon, winning a pair of shootouts at John P. McDowell Field.
Game one saw the Grizzlies (16-15, 8-8 HCAC) overcome a big first inning from the Ravens (21-12, 11-5 HCAC) and hang on late for a 10-9 victory. Game two saw the two offenses combine for 10 home runs, but Franklin scored in each of their final four trips to the plate in a 15-11 win.
Game One: Franklin 10 – Anderson 9
The Ravens pounced for six runs in the first inning, getting all their offense with two outs in the inning to put the hosts behind the eight-ball early. The Grizzlies began their comeback bid in the bottom of the first with
Dyllan Redmon scoring on a passed ball and Franklin made it a 6-3 game with two more runs in the bottom of the second.
One inning later, the Grizzlies grabbed a lead they would hold the rest of the day, plating six runs in the bottom of the third off Raven pitching. Danny Cross drew a bases loaded walk for the first run and
Nic Deering followed with a sac fly to make it a one-run game. Redmon put Franklin in front with a two-run single and
Garrett DeHart followed with a two-run single of his own to make it 9-6 Grizzlies.
DeHart added an RBI double in the bottom of the seventh and Franklin kept the Ravens at bay in the ninth to claim a gritty game one win.
DeHart went 3-for-5 with three RBI and
Alex Billman went 3-for-4 with two runs scored.
Cameron Manuel got the game one start but gave way to
Luke Harmon out of the bullpen in the second. Harmon (2-2) came through with his best performance of the year tossing 6.1 innings of three-hit ball in relief with one earned run allowed and seven strikeouts.
Matthew Johnson worked a scoreless ninth to earn the second save of his career.
Game Two: Franklin 15 – Anderson 11
Franklin took their first lead in their first trip to the plate, getting an RBI single from DeHart and a two-run home run from
Andrew Wallace to offset an Anderson home run in the first and make it 3-2 Grizzlies. Junior Danny Cross clubbed a no-doubter for the first home run of his career, a two-run blast in the second that stretched the lead to 5-2.
But the Ravens answered with seven straight runs over the next three innings, smacking four home runs in total to take a 9-5 lead with half the game to play. Wallace cut into the deficit with an RBI single in the fifth followed by a two-run blast from
Ian Nuckles to make it a 9-8 Anderson lead. The Ravens plated two more runs in the top of the sixth, but would go scoreless the rest of the way while the Franklin offense stayed hot.
Pinch hitter
Kam Seitz came up with a two-run triple in the sixth and Billman tied the game at 11 one batter later with a single that knocked Seitz in. DeHart continued to torment Anderson pitching when he put Franklin in front for good with a solo shot in the seventh.
Jordan DeAtley clubbed a solo homer of his own in the eighth and Redmon added some insurance later in the inning with a two-run triple.
Wallace went 3-for-5 with three RBI and three runs scored in a monster second game. DeHart, Nuckles, Billman, DeAtley and
Josh Girvan all had two hits in support as Franklin finished game two with 17 base hits in total.
Johnson made the game two start after saving the opener, giving up five hits with three strikeouts over three innings.
Gavin Leavy (2-1) was brilliant in silencing Anderson's bats late in the game, giving up two hits and striking out six over 3.2 innings of scoreless relief.
Up Next
Franklin heads to Ohio on Wednesday (Apr. 23) afternoon for two non-conference games against the Wilmington Quakers. First pitch of game one is set for 2:00 p.m.
