By: Colton Steiner

FRANKLIN, Ind. - With the school year wrapping up, the Beavers would travel west and face off against the Franklin Grizzlies in their final double-header of the season. After a hot start in game one the Grizzlies would come roaring back, scoring 10 unanswered as the home team took game one 11-7. After trailing 4-3 in game two through six frames, Bluffton would be outscored 11-1 in the final two innings as the Beavers would fall 15-4 in the final game of the day after eight innings. With the two losses, Bluffton drops to an 8-31 overall record, with a 2-19 mark in the HCAC, while Franklin improves to 21-17 on the season and sit at 10-10 in conference play.

After a scoreless first inning, the Beavers would get out ahead early in the second inning after Zane Sarcheck (Sunbury, Ohio / Big Walnut) would bring home Wes Toth (Chagrin Falls, Ohio / Kenston) on a sacrifice fly. Then, with runners on first and second, Torin Long (Defiance) would step up to the plate and crush a towering three-run dinger over the left field fence, extending Bluffton's lead to 4-0. While Franklin would add a run in the bottom of the fourth, the visiting Beavers would answer with RBI singles from Ayden Spriggs (North Lewisburg, Ohio / Triad) in the fifth and Billy Ramsey (Fairfield) in the sixth, allowing them to go up 6-1. Bluffton would continue their offensive outburst in the sixth and extend their lead to 7-1 following an RBI single to left from Tyler Forest (Harrison, Ohio / LaSalle). Despite the lead, the Grizzlies would claw their way back into the contest, scoring six unanswered runs with thre runs in the sixth, followed by another three runs in the seventh, evening up the game at 7-7. After a fielders choice brought in a run to give the home team an 8-7 lead, a two run homerun allowed Franklin to jump ahead 10-7. After the Grizzlies added another run in the eighth, the Beavers would be unable to cut down the deficit as they fell in a final score of 11-7. 

With both teams netting 10 hits a piece, Bluffton would be led with two players collecting two hits a piece. Tyler Forest would end the day going 2-for-5 at the plate with a run and RBI, with Zane Sarcheck finishing 2-for-3, scoring once and also tallying an RBI. 

Starting the contest on the hill was Riley Reyna (Wellington), who tossed 5.1 innings and allowing three earned runs off six hits. Reyna would fan a team-high three batters, while also walking three. Jack Hardesty takes the loss, falling to 0-4 on the season. Pitching one inning of relief was William Nissen (Genoa), who allowed three runs off two hits, while recording two strikeouts in the outing. This would be Nissen's 22nd appearance of the season, setting a single season record for the Beavers. The previous record of 21 was set by Travis Clark in 2016.

Game two would open up with the Beavers getting on the board first after an RBI from Brandon North (Hilliard, Ohio / Bradley) brought home Tyler Forest from third. After an RBI double from the hosts evened up the score at one apiece in the bottom of the second, Bluffton would answer right back with a sacrifice fly in the top of the third, retaking a one run lead. The lead for the Beavers would be short lived as an RBI single and a two run single allowed the Grizzlies to jump ahead 4-2 after three frames. While Bluffton managed to cut the deficit to one after scoring off a wild pitch in the fourth inning, six runs in the seventh inning for Franklin allowed them jump ahead to a 10-3 lead. The Beavers answered with a run off miscue from the Grizzlies in the top of the eighth, but five more runs in the bottom of the inning would end the contest afte reight innings, with Franklin coming out with a 15-4 win over Bluffton. 

The offense was all on the Grizzlies side as they would outhit the Beavers 12-6. Ayden Spriggs and Zane Sarcheck would pace the Bluffton bats, each finishing 2-for-4 at the plate with a run, while Brandon North and Wes Toth would each tally an RBI in the loss. 

Noah Davis (Cincinnati, Ohio / Norwood) would open up the game on the mound, pitching six innings and allowing six earned runs off seven hits, while striking out seven. Following the loss, Davis drops to 1-4 in his freshman campaign. 

The Beavers will be off on Saturday to celebrate it's seniors walking for graduation before returning to the diamond on Sunday, May 3 when travel back to Franklin in their final contest of the season, with first pitch set for 1 p.m.

-Beavers-