SHELBYVILLE
A 74-minute lighting delay has the potential to alter a game’s momentum, but Franklin had no interest in testing that possibility.
The Grizzly Cubs started fast Friday evening, were eventually directed toward shelter and came back to apply the finishing touches to a 10-0 semifinal victory over East Central at the Class 4A Shelbyville Sectional.
The game was called after five innings due to the 10-run rule.
Franklin (16-10), which has very quietly won five of its last six games, returns here on Monday for the championship game, now scheduled for 6 p.m.
The opponent is yet to be known. A strong rain shower soaked the field prior to Friday night’s second semifinal between the host Golden Bears (15-8) and Columbus East (9-17), so the game was postponed until noon on Monday.
A cohesive team is a dangerous one, and the Grizzly Cubs have become one as they seek their first sectional title since 2013 and sixth overall.
“This is the closest I’ve ever been with a baseball team in my life,” said Cubs junior shortstop Landen Basey, who homered, singled, doubled and missed an opportunity to hit for the cycle when he was hit by a pitch in his final at-bat.
“These past four games we’ve come together as a team, and started playing team baseball instead of individual baseball. We have a lot of new kids on the team that none of us really knew. We’ve got freshmen and sophomores who are first-year varsity players.”
Franklin got down to business early with two runs in the top of the first.
Leadoff hitter Basey took Ryan Ott’s third pitch of the game and air-mailed it over the fence in left-center field. Second baseman Carsten Bland was then hit by a pitch, and advanced all the way to third base when Ott’s pickoff throw to first rolled past the right field stripe. Bland made it home on sophomore pitcher Blake Smythe’s opposite-field single into left.
The Grizzly Cubs added four more runs in the second to chase Ott, who was replaced by junior Joel Richter.
Franklin’s No. 9 hitter, center fielder Grayson Betts, was hit by a pitch to get things started. He stole second and moved to third on Basey’s single, with Bland’s single to left making it a 3-0 score. Soph Owen Bullington’s single brought home two more runs; Trevor Launonen’s fly to deep center glanced off the fielder’s glove, scoring another.
Two innings had been played when the game was delayed by lightning in the area.
Basey picked up where he left off after play resumed, driving a two-out double and scoring on Bland’s double to left. Smythe led off the fourth frame with another opposite-field hit, this one clearing the left field fence for a solo homer and an 8-0 lead. The Grizzly Cubs scored two more on Betts’ double to right.
Smythe remained composed throughout, completely shutting down the Trojans by yielding no hits, walking three and striking out seven East Central batters.
“I played varsity football the past two years, and played varsity baseball my freshman year, so I was kind of used to that feeling,” Smythe said. “And this group, I feel like we’re just all together all the time.
“Tonight, I was just looking to let my defense play. I trust those guys.”
East Central used three pitchers, who combined to give up 12 hits. Basey’s three led the way, while Bland, Bullington and Smythe all added two apiece.
“We weren’t sure where (East Central) was with pitching. We had no idea. We really didn’t care,” first-year Franklin coach Jeremy McKinney said. “We just knew we were going to stay on the gas pedal, and continue with the momentum we’ve had from Wednesday (a 5-3 come-from-behind win over Columbus North) and just keep moving with it.
“It’s not just the guys you’re playing. It’s our dugout atmosphere. It’s the fan atmosphere. It’s everything. Everybody on this field has laid everything on the line, and that’s kind of what we’re rolling with.”
