Franklin pounds Plymouth in WIAA Summer State Semifinals

July 24, 2015

By Spencer Flaten
Staff Writer

Mequon, WI – The Franklin Sabers advanced to the WIAA summer baseball state championship game with an 11-4 pounding of Plymouth in the semifinals at Kapco Park on Friday.

Franklin bashed 16 hits in the game that saw them hold the lead from the top of the 1^st inning all the way to the final out.

The Sabers started out looking like the better team. They jumped on Plymouth ace Zac Cain in the first three innings to score three runs and chase him from the game. Jake Gain hit a sac fly in the 1^st and Jake Behlendorf and Sam Harmeyer both tallied RBI singles in the 3^rd for Franklin.

Plymouth struggled early against Franklin starter Joe Fortman but managed to load the bases in the 4^th inning. Fortman escaped the jam by inducing a ground ball and kept the Panthers off the board.

Cain broke up the shutout in the bottom of the 5^th inning with a line drive RBI single, but the Panthers stranded two more men on base to end the inning.

Franklin came to bat in the top of the 6^th with a 3-1 lead and quickly made sure that they had all the insurance they needed to win the game. They nailed five hits (including three triples) in the frame to score five runs and put the game effectively out of reach. Parker Plume, Harmeyer, and Gain all had triples in the inning and David Schmidt had a 2 RBI single.

Matt Olig led off the bottom of the 6^th with a solo home run for Plymouth, but no more runs scored in the inning.

The Sabers’ bats continued to be hot in the top of the 7^th. They scored three more runs, highlighted by yet another triple by Gain. He cleared the bases with the hit and made the score 11-2 in favor of Franklin.

Plymouth tacked on two runs in the bottom of the 7^th thanks to some sloppy defense by Franklin and an RBI double by Cain, but ultimately their comeback bid fell short.

Fortman got the win on the mound for Franklin. He went five innings and scattered six hits and allowed just one run. Cain took the loss for Plymouth with a three inning outing that saw him give up three runs.

Plume went 3-for-4 for Franklin with two triples and a double, while Gain finished 2-for-4 with two triples and 5 RBIs. Cain was 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs for the Panthers.

Franklin will play either Menomonee Falls or Pewaukee in the state championship game on Friday evening.

Franklin pounds Plymouth in WIAA Summer State Semifinals

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