The Franklin County Rebels lost to the Cuyahoga Valley Royals 2-1 at home Saturday in their third and final game for the Warrior Classic.

The Royals scored two runs in the top of the seventh to rally past Franklin County late as the Rebels ended the tournament with a record of 0-3.

The Rebels scored their lone run for the contest in the bottom of the second as Braden Jackson drew a leadoff walk, moved up to second on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI single from Ayden Hodosi to make it a 1-0 game.

The Royals loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the third on two singles and a walk, but pitcher Connor Parker then induced a popout to end the frame and strand the runners.

The Royals also moved runners into scoring position in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, but the Rebels were able to hold them off the board each time.

However, the Royals loaded the bases once again in the top of the seventh, and a two-out, tworun single suddenly gave them a 2-1 advantage over the Rebels.

The Rebels put the potential tying and winning runs on base with one out in the bottom of the seventh as Gavin McBee reached base on a fielder’s choice following an Avery Jackson single, and Layton Jones hit a single of his own, but a double play then ended the contest as the Rebels lost by one.

Parker pitched 4 1-3 shutout innings for the Rebels with four strikeouts, six hits and three walks allowed for the day.

Colson Kelley pitched the remaining 2 2-3 innings in relief with three strikeouts, four hits, two walks and two runs allowed.

With the loss, the Rebels moved to 9-6 on the season.

Lakeside 5, Rebels 0

The Rebels lost to the Lakeside Chiefs 5-0 at home Saturday in their second game for the Warrior Classic.

The Rebels fell behind early in the contest and were shut out for the second time this season as they began the day with a decisive loss.

The Chiefs jumped ahead with a three-run frame in the top of the second as a sacrifice fly broke the scoreless tie, and a two-run error created more early separation from Franklin County.

Singles from Avery Jackson, Jones and Gus Gardner loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the third, but a strikeout and a flyout then ended the frame before the runners could advance any further.

The Chiefs scored one run each in the fifth and sixth innings to expand the deficit to 5-0 late in the contest.

The Rebels were retired in order in the sixth and seventh innings as they went on to lose by five.

Keylen Partin pitched the first 5 2-3 innings for the Rebels with two strikeouts, five hits, three walks, three earned runs and two unearned runs allowed for the day.

Mason Isbell pitched the remaining 1 1-3 innings in relief with two strikeouts, one hit and no runs allowed.

With the loss, the Rebels moved to 9-5 on the season.

Northside 5, Rebels 2

The Rebels lost to the Northside Mustangs 5-2 at The Webb School on March 26 in their first game for the Warrior Classic.

The score was tied on two different occasions in the middle innings with the Mustangs pulling away from the Rebels late in the contest.

The Rebels scored the first run of the day as Ethan Stoltzfus recorded a two-out RBI triple in the bottom of the second to drive in Elijah Dorrell, pinch-running for Hodosi, from second base.

The Mustangs scored a tying run in the top of the fourth, and they scored again in the fifth inning to briefly put the Rebels in a 2-1 hole.

The Rebels answered back in the bottom of the fifth as Stoltzfus hit a leadoff single, moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt from Avery Jackson, advanced to third on a single from McBee and scored off of a fielding error to tie the score at 2-2.

However, the Mustangs scored a run in the top of the sixth to retake the lead and scored two more times in the top of the seventh to make it a three-run game.

A one-out single from Avery Jackson in the bottom of the seventh brought the potential tying run up to bat for Franklin County, but a fielder’s choice and a popout then ended the contest as the Rebels lost by three.

Cameron Denton pitched the first five innings for the Rebels with seven strikeouts, four hits, two walks and two runs allowed for the day.

Si Owens pitched two innings in relief with one strikeout, three hits, three walks and three runs allowed.

With the loss, the Rebels moved to 9-4 on the season.

Rebels 4, Marshall County 2

The Rebels beat the Marshall County Tigers 4-2 on the road on March 25 for their ninth win of the season.

The Rebels led for the entire contest and held off a late offensive push from the Tigers to secure a sweep of Marshall County in district play.

Franklin County head baseball coach Mike Crossland said that his team played well overall against a tough pitching adversary in Marshall County’s Carson Henderson.

“(Henderson) threw the ball extremely well for them. He competes, is probably one of the top two or three pitchers in our district, and we found a way to win. We had some sophomores step up and pitch well for us tonight,” he said, referring to pitchers Kelley and Avery Jackson before later talking about his team as a whole. “They’re locking in, and they’re playing pretty good baseball right now.”

The Rebels scored most of their runs for the day in the top of the first as RBI singles from Gardner, Braden Jackson and Taylor Austin made it a 3-0 game early.

The Tigers got one of those runs back in the bottom of the first on a twoout RBI single, and they scored another run in the bottom of the third off of a bases-loaded walk to cut the lead down to 3-2.

The Rebels scored an insurance run in the top of the sixth as Avery Jackson came through with a twoout RBI single to push their lead up to 4-2.

The Tigers brought the potential tying run up to bat in the bottom of the sixth following a leadoff single, but the Rebels were able to turn a double play to erase the baserunner.

Another leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh gave the Tigers some momentum, and a fielding error and a walk with two outs in the frame loaded the bases.

However, Avery Jackson struck out the next batter to end the scoring threat and clinch the tworun victory.

Kelley pitched the first 2 2-3 innings for the Rebels with six strikeouts, four hits, five walks and two runs allowed for the day.

Avery Jackson pitched 4 1-3 shutout innings in relief with four strikeouts, two hits and one walk allowed.

With the win, the Rebels improved to 9-3 on the season and 2-0 in district play.

Rebels 5, Marshall County 2

The Rebels beat the Marshall County Tigers 5-2 at home on March 23 for their eighth win of the season.

The Rebels scored all of their runs for the district contest in the first inning and maintained a decent lead for the rest of the day behind a strong combined pitching performance from Gardner and Denton.

Crossland said that his team played well defensively and got off to a desirable offensive start, but the lack of scoring throughout the rest of the game created a potentially dangerous situation.

“What you learn from this is you just can’t sit on a five-run lead against anybody,” he said. “We come out prepared. That showed. The scouting report was right on the money, and then we just kind of fell asleep, didn’t make any kind of adjustments at the plate, and at the end of the game, you look up and it’s a threerun ballgame.”

The Rebels recorded five of their seven hits for the contest in the bottom of the first as an RBI double from Gardner, RBI singles from Braden Jackson and Austin and a two-run single from Kelley gave them an early 5-0 advantage.

The Rebels were also able to advance runners into scoring position in the second and fourth innings, but the Tigers kept them from adding to their advantage on both occasions.

The Tigers got on the board in the top of the sixth as a one-out, two-run double cut Franklin County’s lead down to 5-2 late.

A single from the next Marshall County batter brought the potential tying run up to the plate, but Gardner struck out the next two batters to end the scoring threat.

The Tigers were retired in order in the top of the seventh by Denton out of the bullpen as the Rebels clinched a three-run victory.

Gardner pitched the first six innings for the Rebels with 16 strikeouts, seven hits and two runs allowed for the day.

Denton pitched a perfect inning in relief as he struck out all three batters that he faced to record a save.

With the win, the Rebels improved to 8-3 on the season and 1-0 in district play.

They next played Monday at Giles County High School in a game which came after the Herald Chronicle’s press deadline.