Baseball at .500 mark after Rawlings Southern Classic

The Franklin College Grizzlies took part in the Rawlings Southern Classic in Atlanta, Georgia over the weekend, finishing 2-2.

The Grizzlies opened their season Friday afternoon when they took on Ferrum College. The Grizzlies took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning after senior Lance Noel stole home during a double steal. Ferrum answered in the second inning on a sacrifice fly. In the fifth inning, senior Nick Ostergaard scored from second base when senior Adam Blackburn doubled to left field, giving the Grizzlies a 2-1 advantage. Ferrum scored runs in the 8th and 9th innings to steal the game away, winning 3-2.

Senior Jared Applegate pitched eight and a third innings but received the loss after Ferrum scored in the ninth inning. Applegate gave up nine hits, three earned runs, and struck out seven batters.

Later that night the Grizzlies took on Oglethorpe University in the second of the four games.

Franklin got out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning. Oglethorpe scored four runs in the top of the third to give them a 4-2 lead. The lead would not be held long as the Grizzlies answered with a five-run third inning.

Taking a 7-4 lead the Grizzlies seemed to be heading again towards their first victory, but three innings later the lead was gone for good. Oglethorpe scored four runs in the next three innings and then added another 11 runs over the final three. The Grizzlies were unable to score until the 9th inning where they tried to mount a comeback, but only scored five, making the final 19-12.

The Grizzlies had a tough time pitching against Oglethorpe after senior Marcus Lanson left the game when he was hit in the left hand by a line drive. The Grizzlies used five pitchers and gave up a total of 19 runs off of 23 hits.

Saturday proved to be the turning point for the Grizzlies when they took on North Carolina Wesleyan.

The Grizzlies once again jumped out to a 2-0 first inning lead, but this time they would hold onto it. The Grizzlies scored two more in the second inning, giving them a 4-0 lead. North Carolina Wesleyan answered by scoring two runs in the bottom of the second and two more in the bottom of the third.

With the game tied the Grizzlies scored four runs in the fourth to give them the lead for good. North Carolina Wesleyan would score one run in the eighth to make it an 8-5 game, but Franklin would answer in the ninth with a run of their own. The Grizzlies got their first win of the year beating North Carolina Wesleyan 9-5.

Junior Luke Mehringer got his first win of the season after pitching seven and a third innings. Mehringer gave up five hits and four earned runs while striking out six batters. Sophomore Nathan Bryant got his first save of the season pitching one and two thirds innings. Bryant gave up one hit and struck out two batters.

Coach Lance Marshall was proud of the way his team bounced back from their two losses Friday to earn their first victory Saturday.

The Grizzlies carried their momentum from Saturday into Sunday’s game against Greensboro College.

For the fourth game in a row the Grizzlies scored in the first inning and took the initial lead. The Grizzlies scored one run in the first when Junior Paul Strack scored during a double steal attempt. Greensboro answered in the third inning with four runs to take a 4-1 lead. The lead did not last long as the Grizzlies scored three runs in the bottom of the third to tie the game 4-4. Greensboro College retook the lead in the fourth off of a sacrifice fly.

Down 5-4, the Grizzlies went into the bottom of the fifth looking to retake the lead, and retake the lead they did. The Grizzlies scored six runs to give them a 10-5 lead and never looked back. Franklin added two more runs in the bottom of the eighth and Greensboro got one run in the top of the ninth, giving the Grizzlies the 12-6 win.

Sophomore Derrik Patterson got his first win and the Grizzlies second win of the season.  Patterson went six innings giving up five hits, two earned runs, and striking out three batters. Sophomore Cody Nees recorded his first save of the season after pitching the final three innings. Nees gave up two hits and one run, while striking out six batters.

“We got better as the weekend went on. It was a challenge to go from a gymnasium to a field,” said Coach Marshall.

The Grizzlies had yet to step on a field all winter and had been practicing in the Spurlock Center and the Fitness Center. They were also playing their first games of the season, whereas the teams they played had each played a few games before the Classic.

The Grizzlies were led offensively by Noel and junior Paul Strack. Noel batted .438 with seven hits. He had two doubles and was walked five times. Noel scored seven times and had two RBIs. Strack hit .417 going 5-12. Strack scored six times and had five RBIs along with one walk and was hit by a pitch. Sophomores Ian Sanders and Matt Zmich each hit a home run during the four game stretch.

“Both Lance and Paul hit well and Cody Nees and Nathan Bryant came up big with their saves to seal the games for us,” said Coach Marshall.

The Grizzlies outscored their opponents 35-33. They had a team batting average of .301 going 43-143 and also went 15-19 on stolen base attempts.

The Grizzlies finished fifth out of the nine teams that played in the Rawlings Southern Classic.

Franklin College travels to Centre College next Saturday and Sunday.  The Grizzlies play 1:00pm on Saturday and noon on Sunday.