In the first game of the inaugural Franklin County Invitational, the host Wildcats fell to one of the top teams in 2A, Eastern Hancock (22-1), by a score of 8-5.
Franklin County was able to hold the fantastic bats of the Royals at bay through the first three innings, not allowing a single base runner. The Wildcats used this to take a five to nothing advantage into the top of the fourth inning, but then the Eastern Hancock bats woke up. The Royals went on to collect eleven hits in the last four innings to sink the Wildcats. Three home runs in the fourth and fifth inning really swung the momentum in the Royals favor and the Wildcats couldn’t answer with a clutch hit of their own.
Offense
KK Ferman: 3/4 (3 Singles)
Bree Bischoff: 2/4 (2 Singles), 1 RBI, 1 R
Josie Rolfes: 2/4 (2 Singles), 2 R
The Wildcats continued play in their invitational on Saturday afternoon. Please see Blackford and Salem recaps to see how they finished the tournament.
In their second game of the Franklin County Invitational, the Wildcats defeated the Blackford Bruins by a score of 13 -4.
It was a close game throughout the contest and the Bruins tied the game in the bottom of the sixth when they scored two unearned runs off of Wildcat errors to even the score at four. Then the Wildcats exploded for nine runs in the top of the seventh inning (all with two outs) to put an exclamation point on their victory! The Wildcats had nine hits in the inning and it proved to be one of the bright spots for the team in the tournament.
After the big half inning, Franklin County shut down Blackford in the bottom of the seventh inning to secure the victory.
Offense
Anne Becker: 2/4 (2 Singles), 4 RBI
Camryn Brewer: 2/4 (2 Doubles), 1 RBI, 1 R
Kassidy Schell: 2/4 (2 Triples), 1 RBI, 2 R
Maci Lake: 2/5 (2 Singles), 1 RBI, 2 R, 2 SB
Josie Rolfes: 2/5 (2 Singles), 1 RBI, 1 R
Pitching
Bree Bischoff: 5 1/3 IP, 4 R (2 ER), 4 K
KK Ferman: 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 4 K
With the win, the Wildcats moved into the third-place game after pool play in the Franklin County Invitational left the team with a 1-1 record. Please see the recap versus Salem to see how it turned out.
Four late fielding errors cost the Franklin County Varsity Softball team the third-place game of their invitational by a final score of 8-7.
The Wildcats were in control five to nothing heading into the top of the fifth when the wheels fell off. In the final three innings the Wildcats committed four fielding errors which gave the Salem Lions plenty of opportunities to tie, and eventually take the lead for good over the Wildcats. Franklin County would tie it in the sixth inning before Salem would retake it in the seventh inning to seal the victory.
Franklin County would out-hit the Lions by a fifteen to seven margin, but the four fielding errors proved too much for the Wildcats to overcome in the contest. Of the Lions eight runs, only two were earned.
The bright spot in the game came in the bottom of the fourth inning when the Wildcats would hit three home runs to take a five to zero lead! Going deep for the team in this inning was Kloe Bolos, Kassidy Schell, and Kiersten Schell.
Offense
Anne Becker: 3/4 (3 Singles)
Kiersten Schell: 2/4 (Single, Home Run), 1 RBI, 1 R
Camryn Brewer: 2/4 (Single, Double), 1 R
Kassidy Schell: 2/5 (Double, Home Run), 3 RBI, 2 R
KK Ferman: 2/3 (2 Singles), 2 RBI, 1 BB
Maci Lake: 2/5 (2 Singles), 1 R
Kloe Bolos: 1/4 (Home Run), 1 RBI, 1 R
Pitching
KK Ferman: 7 IP, 8 R (2 ER), 6 H, 6 K
With the loss, the Wildcats finished in fourth place for the invitational. That spot slotted the team with two all-tournament selections which went to KK Ferman and Kassidy Schell. Here are their numbers from their stellar performance at the tournament:
KK Ferman
6/9 (BA: .667)
3 BB (OBP: .750)
2 RBI
1 R
Kassidy Schell
4/12 (BA: .333)
1 Double, 2 Triples, 1 Home Run
2 BB (OBP: .429)
4 RBI
4 R
A big milestone was also hit in this game when KK Ferman drew her 24th walk of the season at the plate in the 3rd inning. This broke a 29 year-old record for the most walks drawn in a season, previously held by Dawn Ison (1992 season). Congratulations KK!
Franklin County will enjoy their day off on Sunday before another busy week of games start on Monday when they take on the Cambridge City Lincoln Golden Eagles. First pitch is scheduled for 5:30 PM for the varsity contest, with the JV game immediately following the varsity.
The contest will also be our senior night celebration for our seniors – Kloe Bolos, Camryn Brewer, and Kiya Rains. Please come out and support our seniors and celebrate their four years on the field for the Wildcats. The Senior Night ceremony will take place prior to the start of the varsity game at approximately 5:20 pm.
Courtesy of Wildcats Coach Alex McCool.