Cubs pull out win against Lancers

Franklin and Edinburgh combined for 21 strikeouts in a baseball game that, not surprisingly, needed an extra inning to determine a winner.

Sophomore Nathaniel Whetstine lined a two-out single to center field in the top of the eighth frame to drive home senior catcher Alec MacLennan as the Grizzly Cubs escaped with a 2-1 victory.

Monday’s game was a semifinal of the Johnson County Tournament.

Franklin’s opponent will be determined later this month once Greenwood and Indian Creek conclude play April 23 to see who faces Center Grove in the other side of the bracket.

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One of those teams will play the Grizzly Cubs — eventually — in the championship game.

Franklin coach Ryan Feyerabend watched starter Branson Pugh and reliever Luke Miles combine to strike out 13 Lancers, but he still couldn’t rest easy until the final out was recorded.

“Honestly, (Edinburgh) is going to win a lot of ballgames. Our guys knew that they were going to be in for it tonight,” Feyerabend said. “Two pretty good arms throwing, but, fortunately, we got enough guys on base and hit a few well-struck balls to get past them.”

Edinburgh senior right-hander Zach Murphy pitched six solid innings, yielding two hits and striking out seven. His counterpart, Pugh, also went six. The senior lefty allowed four hits and fanned nine batters.

Junior reliever Miles picked up the win for the Cubs, with Lancers’ junior southpaw Zack Giles taking the loss.

“I mean, credit Edinburgh. They squared a lot of balls up,” Miles said. “I just tried to stay aggressive and keep the ball in the strike zone. If they put the ball in play, that’s fine. I have a good defense behind me.”

Franklin led 1-0 through four innings, but Edinburgh broke through with a run of its own in the bottom of the fifth.

Coltan Henderson got it started with a leadoff single to center, while senior Gabe Wilson’s first-pitch bloop single had runners on first and second. Tavian Cosby’s ground out moved runners into scoring position.

A sacrifice fly by junior left fielder Bryce Burton scored Henderson and tied the game.

In the eighth, MacLennan, Franklin’s No. 3 hitter, drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on a bunt by Blake Dicken. Jared Ross then popped out before Whetstine delivered what would be the game-winner.

Miles, who is also the Grizzly Cubs’ leadoff hitter, finished with two singles; Jonah Rockey added a double. For Edinburgh, Henderson and Wilson both were credited with a pair of singles.

Lancers coach Jason Burton was proud of the poise his squad demonstrated after losing both ends of a home-and-home to Hauser last week by lopsided margins.

“Honestly, I’m just proud of the total effort. It was a team effort. We had guys playing situational baseball,” Burton said. “We had guys laying bunts down at times, and we were hitting our cutoffs on fielding plays. We had one error, but I think we bounced back from that.

“I’m just pleased overall with their approach at the plate and just their mental mindset in the game.”