KOKOMO, Ind. – For the first time since 2019 and for the fourth time overall, the Franklin College baseball team has laid claim to a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) tournament championship.

The Grizzlies (33-11) got a stellar pitching performance on short rest from sophomore Matthew Johnson and Tysen Lipscomb clubbed a grand slam as Franklin rolled to a 12-3 win over the Ravens (27-19). Both players were named to the all-tournament team after the game along with Jackson Young, with Lipscomb earning Tournament MVP honors.

How it Happened

Franklin got the scoring started in the bottom of the second with Luke Willmann ripping an RBI double to left and Colby Reed singling Willmann home to make it a 2-0 game. But just as they did all weekend long, the Ravens refused to go away, scoring a run in the second and countering an Anthony Smith RBI single in the third with a fourth inning home run that made it a 3-2 game.

The bottom of the fourth saw Lispcomb deliver the Ravens a crushing blow, as he smacked a grand slam that made it 7-2 and put the game out of reach. One inning later, Franklin plated four more runs and they added another in the eighth for some insurance.

All that was left was to nail down the ninth, with that duty going to senior pitcher and Kokomo-native Gavin White who needed just five pitches to deliver the final three outs.

Lipscomb went 2-for-4 with three runs scored and five runs knocked in. AJ Sanders had three hits from the leadoff spot and Reed reached in all four plate appearances with three runs scored.

Johnson (6-1) came back on two day's rest to throw 6.2 innings of three-hit ball that saw him walk four and strike out three. Will Butts tossed 1.1 innings in relief before White took over in the ninth.

The Grizzlies will now wait to see where they head for the 2023 NCAA Baseball Tournament. Regional pairings will be announced on Monday (May 15) afternoon at noon on NCAA.com.