Great pitching and defense and timely hitting has been the main formula for success for Franklin County this season, and Monday night was no exception. The Wildcats defeated Cambridge City 4-1 with great pitching from Kendall McCool and stellar defense behind her. After their first time through the order, the Wildcat hitters made adjustments and strung together some key hits to score their four runs. The victory pushes Franklin County’s record to 21-4 on the season and Lincoln’s record falls to 15-2.
The Golden Eagles struck first in the bottom of the first inning. After a hitting the first batter of the inning, H. Hall then advanced to second on a passed ball. Then L. Russell lofted a deep fly ball into center field. The ball was overran by the Wildcat’s fielder and allowed the runner on second to score and Russell advanced to third on the error. McCool would bear down the rest of the inning to not allow any more runs to score. The next hitter would strike out before E. Pugh drew a 1-out walk. McCool would then induce two harmless pop outs to end the inning.
Both offenses would remain quite until the Wildcats came up in the top of the third. Abby Orschell would lead off the inning with a single to right field. She would then steal second to give the Wildcats a runner in scoring position. The next pitch, Lincoln overthrew their pitcher and allowed Orschell to now get to third base. Mitchum would eventually draw a walk and as she made her way to first, she kept running and got into a pickle between first and second. While she was in the run down, Orschell was able to score and tie the game at 1-1.
The Wildcats would put up two more runs in the top of the fourth when Sidney Wilber led off the inning by getting hit by an inside pitch. Then with one out Kloe Bolos smashed a triple into deep right-center field picking up a RBI as Wilber scored on the play. Then with two outs, Gabby Mitchum stepped to the plate to try and score Bolos from third. The senior delivered with a RBI single into right field, making the score 3-1.
Franklin County would score their final run in the top of the fifth inning when Hannah Hornsby led off the inning by ripping a triple of her own down the third base line. Her courtesy runner, Makaylee Woods, would eventually score on a wild pitch to make the score 4-1.
Four runs was more than enough for Kendall McCool as she had brought her best stuff to Cambridge City. McCool picked up the win for Franklin County going all seven innings, allowing four hits and one unearned run while striking out nine and walking one.
H Hall took the loss for Cambridge City Lincoln. She lasted four innings, allowing four hits and three runs while striking out five.
Hannah Hornsby, Kloe Bolos, Gabby Mitchum, Kamryn McCool, and Abby Orschell each collected one hit to lead Franklin County’s offense.
K Smith went 2-for-2 at the plate to lead Cambridge City Lincoln in hits.
Franklin County will be back in action on Tuesday evening as the Wildcats have an EIAC match up with the East Central Trojans. These are the top two teams in the EIAC with Franklin County trailing the Trojans by one game in the loss column of the standings. First pitch is scheduled for 5 pm. We hope to see you at the game and fill the stands for this pivotal conference battle.
Courtesy of Wildcats Coach Alex McCool.