Franklin’s Max Clark tries to avoid the tag while caught in a rundown during Wednesday’s game against Greenwood.
Sam Findley | For the Daily Journal
Of course it had to end this way.
In a game that saw Greenwood and Franklin pitchers combine to walk 19 batters and hit four others, it was only fitting that a free pass — drawn by Caleb Funkhouser with the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the seventh inning — allowed the Grizzly Cubs to walk away with a 7-6 victory.
Franklin (11-11, 6-6 Mid-State Conference) came in having lost three in a row, including a 5-2 defeat at Greenwood on Tuesday.
“We’ve been on a little bit of a skid, and we needed this win,” Franklin coach
The Grizzly Cubs’ winning frame started innocently enough with a two-out intentional walk to Max Clark, who promptly stole second base. After Jackson Henry reached on an error, cleanup hitter Trevor Launonen walked to fill the bags up for Funkhouser, who took an inside pitch on a full count to force Clark across home plate.
That half-inning was pretty indicative of the type of night it was, as none of the seven hurlers who took the mound were able to consistently find the strike zone. Franklin pitchers walked eight batters and hit one, while the Woodmen issued 11 bases on balls and plunked three other hitters.
“You can’t walk 14 guys and win a one-run game like that,” Greenwood coach Andy Bass said.
The Woodmen (10-11, 4-8) picked up a run in the top of the first when Landen Smith walked, took third on a double into the left-center field gap by Cade Kelly and jogged home on a sacrifice fly to right by Micah Vessely. Franklin ran itself out of a pair of possible runs in the bottom of the frame, as Landen Basey and Clark got tagged out in back-to-back rundowns between second and third.
Greenwood batted around in the third, picking up three more runs in the process. Wyatt Flowers and Smith delivered consecutive doubles to start the inning, and then after the Woodmen loaded the bases with two out, Amare Middleton was hit by a pitch to push Kelly across the plate and a walk to Cooper Smith scored Noah Rollings to make it a 4-0 game. Franklin starter Braeden Burton escaped greater peril by getting Ethan King on an inning-ending flyout with the bases full.
The Grizzly Cubs returned the favor in the bottom of the inning, getting through their whole lineup and scoring three of their own. Henry’s RBI single brought in Basey, who had drawn a leadoff walk, to get the home team on the board. Clark then scored from third on a wild pitch, and a sacrifice fly from Beau Baker brought in Henry, who just barely beat a remarkable throw from Greenwood center fielder Ethan King.
Vessely — who had survived a scary situation in the third when he fouled a bunt attempt back into his face — stretched the Woodmen lead to 5-3 in the fourth when he beat out a two-out infield hit, allowing pinch runner Mavrick Pauley to score from third base. Franklin responded in the bottom half, loading the bases with a Basey single, a Clark double and Launonen getting hit by a pitch. Dylan Funkhouser drew a two-out walk to force Basey home, and a wild pitch allowed Clark to follow with the tying run. The Grizzly Cubs had an opportunity to take the lead, but Greenwood reliever Logan Connor was able to shake free with a bases-loaded strikeout.
An inning later, Clark did put Franklin on top, blasting his sixth home run of the season over the wall in left center with two out and nobody on, but Greenwood tied it back up at 6-6 in the top of the sixth when Landen Smith hit a leadoff double, moved to third on a Vessely single and scored on a Brendan Bailey groundout.
In the end, however, the Woodmen simply gave away too much ground — and missed too many opportunities, leaving 12 men on base. (Franklin stranded 11.)
“When Micah got hit, we kind of had some momentum going, and then you get nine and a half minutes of sitting around waiting,” Bass said. “Multiple times, we had guys on and just couldn’t get them in.”
