When Ryan Bixler and Nick Wright send baseballs sailing over the outfield wall, it’s a means to an end — and the end, of course, is winning.
Landing a spot in the Franklin College record book would just be a bonus.
Bixler, a senior from Logansport, and classmate Wright, a Bloomington native, have been hammering opposing pitchers at a volume seldom seen before around these parts. Last week, Bixler hit his 29th career home run to tie the Grizzlies’ career mark set by former teammate Frank Podkul. He then took sole possession of the record with a shot to center field against Hanover on April 3 and smashed two more against Manchester on Saturday to bump his career total to 33.
Wright, just five behind Bixler with 28, could still pass them both by season’s end.
"We always joke around with each other like, ‘I’m two away from you, Bixler, I’m on your butt,’" Wright said.
While there is a bit of friendly trash talk between the two, the primary record of concern for both is the team’s win-loss mark. Bixler and Wright helped lead the Grizzlies to NCAA Division III tournament appearances in 2018 and 2019, and they’d like to cap their careers by doing so again.
"As long as we win, if I don’t reach the record, that’s fine with me," Bixler said.
Bixler, who transferred to Franklin from Indiana Wesleyan, started launching bombs as soon as he arrived, hitting 15 round-trippers in 2018 and 10 more in 2019. He had three more last spring before the season was cut short by the pandemic.
Wright, meanwhile, hit nine home runs as a freshman in 2017 and 10 the following year. He slowed a bit with just two in 2019 and two during the brief 2020 campaign but has gotten off to a solid start this season with five homers and a team-high 29 RBIs over the team’s first 18 games.
Bixler, who is now tied with Wright for the team lead with five long balls this spring, is batting .449 with 25 runs driven in for the 13-5 Grizzlies.
Whatever type of contributions the two are making, Franklin College coach Lance Marshall had plenty to say about the pair’s value to his program over the past few years.
<strong>"</strong>Their dedication and work ethic are just unmatched," Marshall said. "They’ve worked really hard, and at the end of the day they’re team-first guys, which says a lot considering the gaudy numbers they’ve both put up in their careers."
Both players will move on after this season is over; Wright, a criminal justice major, is looking to pursue a law enforcement career, while Bixler plans to continue working locally with Warweg &amp; Co. Irrigation.
The real world can wait for a little while, though — Bixler and Wright are hoping to extend their playing careers for as long as possible. And with fewer NCAA berths available this season, Wright notes that "it’s really paramount" for the Grizzlies to win the HCAC championship again.
Whichever one of them ends up being the school’s home run king at the end of it all, that’s just icing.
"It’s fun and it’s competitive," Marshall said, "but it’s always been about the team first."
