Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Franklin baseball came into its weekend series with Bluffton needing two wins to secure a place in next week's HCAC tournament.

Though it took a little more work than they might have preferred, the Grizzlies took care of business with a pair of wins Friday, coming back from a six-run deficit for an 11-7 victory in the opener and then pulling away for a 15-4 win in game two.

"The guys came out and played well," Griz coach Lance Marshall said. "I was proud of the guys for battling back in the first game, and then we finally got some separation in game two. ... We just managed to pull them both out. It was a good day for us."

In game one, the Beavers jumped on top with four runs in the top of the second inning. Franklin got on the board in the fourth when Dyllan Redmon scored on an error, but the visitors countered with one more run in the top of the fifth and two in the sixth to take a 7-1 lead.

The Grizzlies started their comeback bid in the bottom of the sixth, scoring runs. Drew Helton doubled with one out and Garrett DeHart, Davis Wagner and Zander Cobb followed with consecutive singles, with Helton scoring on Wagner's infield hit. DeHart came home on an RBI fielder's choice by Noah Loveall and Wagner scored on a wild pitch to cut it to 7-4.

After Franklin reliever Aidan Ray retired the Beavers in order in the top of the seventh, the Griz offense continued its surge in the bottom of the frame. Nic Deering led off with a base hit, moved to third on a wild pitch and a steal and scored on a Helton double to the base of the wall in right center. A two-bagger by DeHart to about the same spot scored Redmon, and Helton scored the tying run on a wild pitch. Wagner's RBI fielder's choice brought DeHart in with the go-ahead run before Cobb gave the home team a 10-7 advantage with a two-run blast over the left-field fence.

DeHart scored Redmon with a sacrifice fly for an insurance run in the eighth inning, and Ray — who allowed just one hit over 3.1 innings of shutout relief — set down the side in order in the ninth to secure the victory.

Franklin fell behind twice in the nightcap but didn't wait nearly as long to make its move.

Bluffton struck for one run in the top of the first but the Grizzlies evened it up in the second inning with back-to-back doubles by DeHart and Wagner. After the Beavers scored again in the top of the third to go up 2-1, Franklin went ahead for good with three runs in its half of the inning. Nic Deering singled with one out, stole second and scored the tying run on a two-out base hit by Redmon. Helton followed with a double — his 21st of the year, setting a new single-season school record — to put runners on second and third, and DeHart followed with a two-run single to right field.

The visitors cut the deficit to one run in the fourth but didn't score again until after the Grizzlies had put things away with six runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Alex Billman was hit by a pitch leading off, and Franklin then loaded the bases with a Deering walk and a bunt single by Josh Girvan. Billman scored when Redmon reached on an error and Deering came home on an RBI fielder's choice by Helton before a two-run single by DeHart stretched the Griz lead to 8-3. Cobb delivered a one-out RBI single and Billman added an RBI fielder's choice before the inning came to an end.

The Beavers picked up a run in the top of the eighth, but the Grizzlies walked it off with five runs in the bottom half. DeHart had an RBI single and Cobb a sac fly before pinch hitter Jaxon Henke finished the game off with a three-run homer to right.

Caden Wilburn got the win on the mound in game two, tossing six innings and limiting the Beavers to two earned runs on six hits while striking out four. Brayden Marrow finished it off with two innings of relief.

Franklin will be back at McDowell Field for the series finale on Sunday afternoon (1 p.m.), and Marshall plans to keep a foot on the gas. Even though the pressure of making the tournament is off, the Grizzlies are still playing for seeding — and for pride.

"We want to win every game no matter what," he said. "We can improve our seeding if we win Sunday, but regardless, we want to win."