INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Franklin baseball team bared bitter temperatures on Sunday (Apr. 6) for the first two games of a three-game set with the Manchester Spartans, with the contests held at Bishop Chatard High School.
After dropping the opener 7-2, the Grizzlies (13-11, 5-4 HCAC) evened up the series behind a dominant complete game effort from freshman
Cameron Manuel, as he shut down the Spartans (14-8, 5-4 HCAC) in a 5-1 Franklin win.
Game One: Manchester 7 – Franklin 2
Garrett DeHart got the Grizzlies on the board with a two-out, two-run double in the eighth inning, but that ended up being all the offense the Grizzlies could muster off Manchester pitching in the opener. The Spartans took the lead for good with two runs in their first trip to the plate, while Franklin's offense managed just five hits in the opener.
Dyllan Redmon went 2-for-4 at the plate while DeHart, Wallace and
Nic Deering all recording base hits.
Matthew Johnson (2-2) got the start and fanned seven batters of six innings of work.
Will Butts logged the final three innings in relief, striking out two.
Game Two: Franklin 5 – Manchester 1
Manuel kept Manchester hitters off balance the entire second game, but Franklin fell behind after Manchester got their lone run of the game on a wild pitch in the second to make it a 1-0 game. Franklin got back to even in their half of the third thanks to an RBI ground out from DeHart, and it stayed a 1-1 game until the Franklin half of the sixth.
The Grizzlies' first hit of the second game came with
Ian Nuckles ripping a two-run double into the left field corner to give Franklin their first lead of the day. Two batters later, freshman
Kam Seitz put the game out of reach when he clubbed a two-run home run over the right field wall, stretching the lead to 5-1.
That ended up being more than enough support for Manuel, who made quick work of the Spartans over the final three innings to move to 3-0 on the year. The Akron, Ind.-native scattered nine hits, walked one and struck out one, pitching to contact all afternoon and relying on a sparkling effort from the Grizzly defense.
Up Next
The two teams will meet in the rubber match on Monday (Apr. 7) afternoon at John P. McDowell Field, with first pitch set for 4:00 p.m.