Box Score For the second time in three games this weekend, Franklin baseball dug itself a sizable early hole against Bluffton on Sunday afternoon. And for the second time, the Grizzlies powered their way out of it.

Down 11-6 midway through the sixth inning, the Griz hit three of their six home runs en route to a nine-run frame that paved the way to a 16-14 Senior Day win at McDowell Field.

The Grizzlies finish the regular season at 23-17 overall and 12-10 in the HCAC, winning their last six conference games to extend their season into this week's HCAC tournament. Sixth-seeded Franklin takes on Rose-Hulman in a first-round contest at 10 a.m. Thursday.

Nothing was on the line in terms of postseason qualification or seeding on Sunday, but the Grizzlies still didn't feel like giving a game away — and in the bottom of the sixth, they decided to take charge.

Drew Helton got the big inning started with a two-run homer that brought the Griz within three at 11-8. Garrett DeHart then scored on a passed ball, and a wild pitch into the dugout allowed Davis Wagner and Zander Cobb to come home with the tying runs.

Freshman Noah Loveall then drove a 3-2 pitch over the left-field wall to give Franklin the lead, and classmate Gavin Fields followed with a solo shot to nearly the same spot five pitches later. Helton added an RBI single, and his steal attempt then drew a throw that allowed Dyllan Redmon to steal home for the ninth run of the inning.

Redmon added some insurance with an eighth-inning solo homer before Wagner, the eighth Griz pitcher of the day, tossed a 1-2-3 ninth to save it for winning hurler Aidan Ray.

Franklin struck for a run in the first inning when Nic Deering led off with a single, stole second and third and came in on a one-out base hit by Redmon, but the visitors answered with five unearned runs in the top of the second inning and another run in the third to take a 6-1 lead. In the bottom of the fourth, the Grizzlies trimmed the deficit to a pair on a two-run home run by Cobb and an RBI single from Josh Girvan.

Bluffton stretched its lead to 8-4 with two runs in the top of the fifth, but Franklin got those runs back on a two-run blast to center by Wagner. The Beavers then scored three in the sixth before the Griz responded with the decisive blitz in their half.

Six different players had two-hit games for the Grizzlies, who pounded out 16 hits in all. Leading the charge was Helton, who had all three of his RBIs in the sixth inning, along with Redmon and Wagner, who scored three times apiece. Redmon reached base in all six of his plate appearances, going 2 for 2 with a walk and getting hit by three pitches. The senior has now been plunked 91 times in his career, just six shy of the NCAA Division III record.

HCAC tourney play begins Thursday morning at Kokomo Municipal Stadium.