The Franklin County Rebels lost to the Battle Creek Grizzlies 4-3 at Lawrence County Saturday in the second-place game for the Region 6AAA tournament.

With a berth to sectionals on the line, the Rebels fell behind in the bottom of the fourth and weren’t able to produce a tying run in the last few innings as the loss eliminated them from the postseason.

Franklin County head baseball coach Mike Crossland said that his team once again showed plenty of fight against Battle Creek after winning four straight elimination games across two tournaments to reach that point, and he said he was proud of how far his players had come overall.

“Hopefully that catapults our program to where I’ve envisioned it being the whole time, but you never know. Kids are built different, but this is definitely a step in the right direction for our program,” he said before referring to his players. “I told them there’s nothing they need to hold their head down about. Leave this ballpark with pride. They set the standard for what needs to be done in this program moving forward.”

The Grizzlies initially took the lead in the bottom of the second as a two-run single and an RBI double with two outs in the frame put the Rebels in a 3-0 hole.

However, the Rebels answered back in the top of the third as Gus Gardner hit an RBI double, and Ayden Hodosi contributed a two-run single on the next pitch to tie the score at 3-3.

The Grizzlies jumped back in front in the bottom of the fourth as a two-out RBI double gave them a 4-3 advantage midway through the contest.

The Rebels moved a runner into scoring position as the potential tying run in the fifth and sixth innings, but the Grizzlies kept them off the board both times to remain in front.

The Rebels were retired in order in the top of the seventh as they lost by one.

Avery Jackson pitched the first 1 1-3 innings for the Rebels with three strikeouts, four hits, two walks and three runs allowed for the day.

Cameron Denton pitched 4 2-3 innings in relief with two strikeouts, three hits and one run allowed.

With the loss, the Rebels ended their season with a record of 19-19.

Rebels 8, Creek Wood 0

The Rebels beat the Creek Wood Red Hawks 8-0 at Lawrence County earlier in the day on Saturday in an elimination game for the Region 6AAA tournament.

The Rebels steadily pulled away throughout the contest and recorded their second shutout victory of the year to advance to the next round of the bracket.

The Rebels took the lead in the top of the second as an RBI single from Taylor Austin and an RBI fielder’s choice from Gavin McBee gave them an early 2-0 edge.

The Rebels loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the third as Josiah Cullins singled and Avery Jackson and Austin both drew walks, and Connor Parker then got hit by a pitch to allow Cullins to score from third base and make it a 3-0 game.

An RBI double from Gardner in the top of the fourth boosted the deficit up to 4-0, and the Rebels scored two more runs in the bottom of the fifth as Braden Jackson hit into a sacrifi ce fly and McBee contributed an RBI single to put the overall tally at 6-0.

Parker came through with a two-out RBI single in the top of the sixth to push Franklin County’s lead up to 7-0.

The final run of the contest was scored in the top of the seventh on an RBI single from Cullins, and the Red Hawks were retired in order in the top of the seventh as the Rebels won by eight.

Colson Kelley pitched six shutout innings for the Rebels with eight strikeouts, two hits and three walks allowed for the day.

Jackson Carr pitched one shutout inning in relief with one strikeout and no hits allowed.

With the win, the Rebels improved to 19-18 on the season.

Battle Creek 5, Rebels 4

The Rebels lost to the Battle Creek Grizzlies 5-4 at Lawrence County Friday in a semifinal game for the Region 6AAA tournament.

The Rebels overcame an early 2-0 deficit to take the lead in the top of the fifth, but the Grizzlies jumped right back ahead in the next half-inning to give Franklin County a narrow loss.

Crossland said that his players had missed opportunities on both sides of the ball in the contest, and they now needed to rally in the elimination bracket like they did in the District 12AAA tournament.

“Our kids have got a decision to make. They can fight back just like we did in the last tournament or we can pack it in. There’s really no in between,” he said. “Make a decision on what you want to do and how hard you want to fight. Come out and execute simple baseball, and we’ll be right back in the thick of this thing tomorrow.”

The Grizzlies took the lead in the bottom of the first as a twoout, two-run single made it a 2-0 game early.

The Rebels put runners in scoring position in each of the first three innings, but they weren’t able to turn those scoring opportunities into any runs.

The Rebels got on the board and cut the deficit down to 2-1 in the top of the fourth as Braden Jackson hit a two-out RBI triple to drive in Austin from first base.

The Rebels loaded the bases with one out in the top of the fifth as Cullins got hit by a pitch, Avery Jackson drew a walk and Hodosi hit a single, and Gardner then came through with a two-run single to give his team a 3-2 advantage.

However, the lead wouldn’t last long as the Grizzlies recorded an RBI single and a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth to retake the lead at 5-3 late.

The Rebels got one of those runs back in the top of the sixth as a two-out RBI double from Cullins put the overall tally at 5-4 and moved Layton Jones up to third base as the potential tying run.

However, a strikeout then ended the inning and stranded Jones and Cullins in scoring position.

Gardner reached base on a fielding error with one out in the top of the seventh as the potential tying run, but a strikeout and a lineout then ended the contest as the Rebels lost by one.

Gardner pitched a complete game for the Rebels with six strikeouts, six hits, two walks and five runs allowed for the day.

With the loss, the Rebels moved to 18-18 on the season.