Franklin freshman pitcher Bryleigh Carlisle has had her struggles at the plate this season.
Friday was a different story.
“In warmups today, I felt I was on the ball and it showed in the game,” Carlisle said.
Carlisle got four hits, including two doubles, and pitched a complete game to lead the host Grizzly Cubs to a 14-5 victory over Indian Creek in the first round of the Johnson County tournament.
“She was 4 for 4 and pitched a phenomenal game,” Grizzly Cubs coach Kayla Craft said. “She definitely brought it tonight. That’s the game we’ve been looking for all season. I think she’s finally getting to the next level, which is good for us.”
Franklin (7-15) will now play Class 4A No. 2 Whiteland at 10 a.m. today in a semifinal at Center Grove. The Warriors have beaten Franklin twice in Mid-State Conference action.
The Grizzly Cubs took a 4-0 lead against the Braves (3-16) with two runs in the first and second innings. The Braves tied it with four runs in the top of the third as freshman Jasmine Day delivered a two-run double, but Carlisle kept her composure.
“I work on not letting my errors affect me during the game,” Carlisle said. “I’m getting a lot better at that.”
Franklin came right back to regain control with two runs in the third and two more in the fourth on freshman Ellie Chumbley’s two-run homer. Carlisle had a run-scoring double in a five-run sixth inning.
“We were putting pressure on them, doing bunts and steals, it helps with our momentum,” Craft said. “We got a lot of hits. We worked a lot on hitting yesterday. We capitalized on their errors and took the extra base. We work on that all the time, so I like they are using that in the game.”
Grizzly Cubs freshman Adeline Blackwell had three hits and two runs batted in from the leadoff spot.
Braves coach Gary Mitchell learned after the game that senior shortstop Emily Todor, who has signed to play at Butler next season, suffered a leg injury.
“She felt like she just twisted it at first,” Mitchell said. “It just started hurting more down the stretch. She took her last at-bat and ran it out to first. She’s a ballplayer; she tried. This might set her back a couple of weeks, but she’s going to be all right.”
Mitchell said he was pleased his young Braves kept competing.
“We fought them and fought them,” Mitchell said. “We went up against their best pitcher. We made them play us. They’re a well-coached team and they just outhit us. We hit some shots, but we didn’t get them down in the holes. If we could get them down in the power alley like they were close to, it could have been a different game.”
Mitchell said it’s been a tough year with no home games because of construction work on the new athletic complex.
“The kids are getting tired, but I’ve not seen any quit in them,” he said. “We have young kids that haven’t played a lot, but looking back how they’ve matured and gotten better, it’s been amazing.”
Craft said the future looks promising for her team as well.
“I keep telling everyone we’re young, but in a few years we’re going to be really good,” Craft said.
