Franklin-Simpson used its dominant hitting Monday to shutout Glasgow, 7-0, in the quarterfinals of the 2017 Region 4 Tournament at Western Kentucky University’s Nick Denes Field.
The Wildcats (29-5, 16-4 Region 4) tallied 10 hits on the day and were led by Hunter Janes, who went 2-for-3 with 2 RBI in the Wildcats’ ninth-straight victory.
“Proud of our guys, Franklin-Simpson head coach Kyle Gammons said. “Our guys stuck to our gameplan and really hit the ball well. We got lucky there in the first inning to scratch two across and I’m really proud of our guys and how they hit it today – and stuck to the plan.”
Along with Janes’ productive outing, Kyler Pritchett and Jackson Caudill each finished with two hits and two RBI. Zach Sliger started on the mound and allowed three hits while striking out five batters in four innings pitched.
With the Wildcats’ victory, they’ll now meet Warren East, who beat Cumberland County 1-0, Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the semifinal round.
“Just like we have all year,” stated Gammons of how they’ll prepare for Tuesday’s game. “Regardless of the opponent, we’re gonna stick to what we’ve doing all year long and stick to our gameplan … and see what happens.”
Franklin-Simpson wasted no time getting going, as it quickly plated a pair of runs in its first at-bat to take the early advantage.
Pritchett and Caudill each recorded singles before Janes’ single into right field scored both runners and gave the Wildcats a 2-0 lead.
After Glasgow (14-17, 10-9) went three-and-out in the ensuing frame, the Scotties then made a pair of costly mistakes in the bottom of the second that benefited the Wildcats.
Rylan Thomas was walked and then stole second. After making the stride to second, he used back-to-back errors to round third and soon cross the plate, increasing Franklin’s advantage to 3-0 after two complete innings.
“We’ve tried to stay aggressive all year long on the bases and challenge a little bit – especially on a deeper field here (at WKU),” Gammons added. “We stole several bases today, so I’m proud of our guys on that.”
The Scotties earned a single in the third and then a triple in the fourth, but couldn’t capitalize in either set. Meanwhile, Franklin exploded for four runs in the bottom half of the inning to make it a 7-0 affair, as Jackson Caudill had a two-run single and Jacob Curtis doubled to plate a pair.
Glasgow would have a pair of batters reach in the fifth, but wouldn’t be able to find any answers.
Dalton Shoemake, Lane Norris, Gavin Burd and Dalton Asher recorded the Scotties’ four hits with one each. Shoemake, who also threw a complete game on the bump, finished with seven strikeouts in his final high school contest.
Tyler Mansfield; @TheTMansfield
