Prep Baseball Report

Two Solid Pitching Performances Send Franklin to Regionals



Two Solid Pitching Performances Send Franklin to Regionals

By Ben Grossberg

Whiteland – Center Grove and Franklin Central faced off in the first semifinal game of Sectional 13. From the start of the game it was pretty one sided as Franklin Central got a great pitching performance and their offense was hot all game.

Franklin Central took advantage of an error Center Grove to get on the board in the first. After a two out infield single of Center Grove pitcher Jay Prior’s hand, an error put two runners on. Justin Jones and Brandon Ruble hit back to back RBI singles to give FC a 2-0 lead.

In the second FC’s offense broke the game open with a seven run inning that saw 12 players come to bat. AJ Taylor drove in the first run with a double to left center. After that all the runs came with two outs. Jimmy Yates had a RBI single, Justin Jones had a two run double, and Brandon Ruble had another RBI single. After the next batter got hit Danny Cronin got his second hit of the inning, doubling to start the inning, this time he had a RBI single and Easton Mohn had an infield RBI single to bring in the seventh run.

In the fourth AJ Taylor had a RBI single and then two runs scored on back to back errors to push the lead to 12-0.

Franklin Central starter Junior Jake Sprinkle got more offense then he would need. Sprinkle was dominant in his four innings of work allowing just two singles and striking out seven. For most of the game he sat 83-85, but in the fourth he reached back to get a strikeout with an 87 mph fastball. Sprinkle didn’t allow a runner to reach second base during his outing.

In the fifth Zach Whitehead came on to close out the game. After getting the first two outs he gave up an infield single, but set down the next batter to end the game and send Franklin Central into the sectional championship game.

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The second semifinal had host Whiteland taking on Franklin. Sophomore Evan Giles got the start for Franklin and was the story of the game on the mound dominating hitters from the outset. The righty only ran into trouble a couple times during the game, but managed to work out of it to keep the shutout going.

Whiteland started Jared Adkins worked fairly easily through the Franklin lineup for the first three innings, but Franklin finally got to him in the fourth. Max Hensley started off the inning with a leadoff single and stole second. After an out Cody Fowler singled putting runners on the corners with one out. Dillon Christie came through with a fly ball deep enough to bring Hensley in for the first run of the game.

Franklin added a run in the fourth thanks to a good baserunning. After an out to start the inning Ryan Torrance singled and stole second. A walk put runners on first and second. After the next batter got out Hensley hit a ball up the middle. The second baseman made a diving stop and tried to flip to second for the third out the runner was safe. Hensley never stopped running from second and managed to beat a throw home for the second run of the game.

Franklin got another run in the sixth with a RBI single from Freshman Andrew Hartkorn to push the lead to 3-0, the eventual final score.

Giles meanwhile Giles was cruising through the game for Franklin. He didn’t allow his first hit until the fourth inning and finished the day allowing just two, both singles. In the third two runners reached with two outs, but Giles struck out the next batter to end the inning. In the fourth two runners reach with one out, but a strikeout and a pop out ended any threat. He ended the game with a strikeout, his eleventh of the day, to send Franklin into the Sectional Championship Game.

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In the Sectional Championship Game Jeremy McKinney got the ball looking to send Franklin into the Regional. He picked up his eighth win of the year throwing a complete game allowing one run on four hits and striking out seven to get the win. Jacob Baldridge doubled twice and drove in a run and Cody Fowler doubled and drove in a run. Danny Cronin drove in the lone run for Franklin Central with a RBI in the second inning. Franklin will head to the Evansville Regional and will face off against Sectional 15 winner Jeffersonville on Saturday.