Prep Softball Franklin 12, Waynesville 2
Patience pays off for Wildcats
Waynesville's backup pitcher issues 13 walks, and Franklin takes advantage of the free passes and some errors.
MORE: View photos from the game
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
FRANKLIN — Sometimes it really is all about how you play the game.
On Tuesday, April 15, with Waynesville High School's top pitcher out with a broken kneecap, sophomore Hannah Morgan found herself atop the mound against an overly patient Franklin lineup of hitters.
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Get latest headlines via RSS feedsFighting back tears of frustration, Morgan walked 13 batters, and Franklin claimed a 12-2 win over Waynesville with five hits in five innings.
"Give her some credit, she hung in there," Franklin coach Holly Daniels said. "She had a good changeup and struck out some batters (five) while she was up there. She was under a lot of pressure today. She'll get better with the more times she takes to the mound."
Five Franklin runs were scored in the opening inning of play. Lefty Jessica Dean did the most damage, doubling in Jordan Terrie and Rachelle Graham. Dean then scored on a Waynesville throwing error for the fifth run.
Brooke Merrill and Katie Chamberlain also scored in the inning.
Merrill and Terrie each walked three times. Freshman Becca Black walked twice. She stole second and wound up at third on overthrows both times.
"Losing Katie (Morgan) last night with a broken patella, that put the pressure on Hannah today," Waynesville coach Dan Stupp said. "Then her backup (pitcher Amber Bell) injured her ankle sliding into second. (Hannah) will be OK, though. We just need the younger girls to step up, but they'll keep getting better. I'm sure of it."
Kristen Gebhardt led Franklin (5-5) with three runs batted in on a second-inning sacrifice fly and a fourth-inning triple. She also drew a walk.
Gebhardt said patience was definitely a virtue against Waynesville (3-6).
"When a pitcher is struggling like that, you just have to be really patient and sit back on it," Gebhardt said. "You have to try and hit anything that's close.
"Hopefully, we can build off this win. We've got a game every day this week, so we'll try."
Daniels says Franklin will play at Oakwood today. Then they're at Dixie on Thursday, in Milton-Union on Friday and wind up with a doubleheader in Monroe on Saturday.
"We showed confidence at the plate today. Hopefully, we can see more of that," she said. "If we can go .500 this week, I think we'll be in good shape."
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2851
or jbombatch@coxohio.com.
