Having snapped a long winless stretch with a midweek sweep of Greenwood, Franklin decided to continue building its win streak instead.
Eight first-inning runs proved to be more than enough cushion as the host Grizzly Cubs rolled to a 16-1 victory over Greenwood Christian in the opening round of the Johnson County tournament on Thursday evening.
The Grizzly Cubs (12-11-1) will face Whiteland in a semifinal game on Saturday.
“That was nice to be able to give some of our JV players that have come up and dressed with us some time and see what they can do,” Franklin coach Kayla Craft said after her team’s third straight win. “We’re ready for Saturday.”
Franklin got all the offense it needed in the first. Adeline Blackwell singled to right, stole second base and came home on a base hit from Addison Martin. Emily Fuqua’s double — the first of five two-baggers in the inning by the Grizzly Cubs — plated Martin and Corin Dammeier. A pair of GCA errors allowed pinch runner Charlee Cramer and Mia Herbert to score, making it 5-0; Aubrey Leugers doubled to score Madison Stearns and Ashlynn Keser, and then Leugers came home on an RBI double by Blackwell.
After a scoreless second, the Grizzly Cubs pulled most of their starters but put up five runs in the third anyway. Leugers scored on an error, Cramer singled home Alysabeth Vaught, and Addison Mashino tripled to drive in Lexi Willey and Cramer before scoring herself on another Cougar miscue.
RBIs from Willey, Cramer and Mashino in the fourth inning helped account for the final runs of the night.
The Cougars got on the board in the top of the first when Sophia Doyle led off with a single to shallow right field, stole second and then advanced the rest of the way on back-to-back groundouts by Sydney Waldron and Brooklyn Collins.
Doyle’s hit was the only one allowed by Franklin starter Ellie Chumbley, who settled down after the lone GCA run and retired the final seven hitters she faced. Freshman Amaya Coit came on in relief to close it out, working through the fourth and fifth innings without allowing a run. Greenwood Christian finished the game with three hits, two of them from Doyle.
Despite the defeat, GCA coach Brad Keller found positives to build on as the postseason approaches.
“We take a ton out of games like this,” he said. “We enjoy seeing a lot faster pitching than we predominantly see. It’s all experience. … It’s great to see stuff like this, because it shows them maybe what we’re going to see (in the sectional opener) against Edinburgh.”
Meanwhile, Craft and the Grizzly Cubs are shifting their focus to the semifinal round, where a familiar foe awaits. Franklin split two games with the Warriors earlier this season.
“We’re both going to be out for blood,” Craft said. “It’s just a big rivalry.”
