CINCINNATI, Ohio – Franklin College head baseball coach Lance Marshall reached win number 600 for his career on Saturday (Apr. 15), doing so in dramatic fashion as part of a double-header sweep of the Mount St. Joseph Lions.

The Grizzlies (20-7, 9-1 HCAC) rallied from two runs down in the ninth in game one to force extra innings where they claimed an 11-9 victory over the Lions (12-13, 2-9 HCAC). Game two saw the Grizzlies get a stellar pitching performance from Jackson Young in an 8-3 win to seal the series win.

Game One: Franklin 11 – MSJ 9 (10 inn.)
Franklin kicked things off with a five-run second inning thanks to RBI doubles from Jonathan LaGuire and Sean Sullivan and a three-run triple from AJ Sanders. But Franklin's offense couldn't keep the hot streak going and the Lions responded with four runs in the fourth and three in the fifth to take a 7-5 lead.

Matt Earley cut the deficit in half in the seventh with an RBI single but the Lions got that run right back in the bottom of the inning. Franklin headed into their final at-bat looking to rally and wasted no time doing so.

Sanders and Colby Reed reached to start the inning and each were in scoring position with one out. Tysen Lipscomb came through with the big hit, singling in both runners to tie the game. With two outs in the inning, Noah Wood put the Griz in front with an RBI single but the Lions got that run back in the bottom of the inning.

With one out in the 10th, LaGuire hit a titanic home run on the first pitch he saw to restore the lead and Sanders tripled in Reed for an insurance run. The Lions brought the go-ahead run to the plate in the bottom of the inning but Maddox Manes worked his way out of the jam to seal the win.

Manes (5-0) went two innings in relief to pick up the win. Sanders went 4-for-6 with three runs scored and four driven in to pace the offense.

Game Two: Franklin 8 – MSJ 3
The Lions plated one in the first and one in the third and kept Franklin hitless until the fourth inning when Lipscomb tripled home a run and scored on a error ahead of an RBI double from Anthony Smith that made it 3-2 Franklin. The Lions evened things up with a run in the fourth but Earley hit a go-ahead solo home run in the sixth that put the Griz in front for good.

Franklin added insurance with a two-run single from Sanders in the seventh, an RBI single from Smith in the eighth and a solo home run for Sanders in the ninth.

Young (5-0) tossed eight innings of six-hit ball, walking one and striking out eight. Aidan Ray worked the final inning in relief.

Franklin and The Mount are back at it on Sunday (Apr. 16) for one game at the University of Cincinnati Baseball Stadium. First pitch is set for noon.