Rebels trounce Grundy County for home victory

S

The Franklin County Rebels beat the Grundy County Yellowjackets 10-0 at home Friday for their 11th win of the season.

The Rebels steadily pulled away in the contest and clinched a victory in the sixth inning while pitcher Brayden Henley tossed a complete-game shutout for the day.

Franklin County head baseball coach Mike Crossland said that inconsistent play has been an issue for his team this week after sandwiching a shutout loss to Lincoln County Thursday between double-digit victories against Shelbyville Tuesday and Grundy County Friday.

“I really thought that we had turned the corner offensively Tuesday night against Shelbyville, and then we go down to Lincoln County (Thursday) and just look like a totally different baseball team,” he said. “It’s just about trying to get some consistency out of this group, and I feel like if we can, we can make a postseason run.”

The Rebels got on the board with a trio of runs in the bottom of the second as Gavin Sells hit into an RBI groundout and Graysen McNeese and Casen Gilliam scored off of an error on a ball hit by Wyatt Lowe to make it a 3-0 game early.

The Yellowjackets recorded their only hit of the day in the bottom of the third with a leadoff single, but the runner would be kept out of scoring position as the shutout remained intact.

The Rebels expanded their advantage with five runs in the bottom of the fourth as Lowe got the scoring for the frame started with an RBI triple.

Lowe and Sam Vincent both scored later in the inning off of an error on a groundball hit by Austin Roberts, and Gus Gardner added a two-run double a few batters later to put the deficit at 8-0.

The Rebels got the last two runs they needed to trigger the mercy rule in the bottom of the sixth as Braden Jackson, pinch-running for Payton Miller, scored on a wild pitch and Vincent got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to give the Rebels the win by 10.

Henley struck out six batters for the day in the one-hit shutout.

With the win, the Rebels improved to 11-11 on the season.

They will next play Saturday at home against Lincoln County High School. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.

posteditor
posteditor
Articles: 17424