UChicago Rides Offensive Explosion to 15-9 Win over Franklin
Franklin had a chance to strike first in the top of the opening inning as a double to the wall in left field gave the Grizzlies a chance to score the runner from first, but the Maroons had an excellent relay to the plate as Lucien Reed to Jack Sharp to Erik Rindner would cut down the runner at the dish.
In the bottom of the inning, Braden Jirovec led off with a double, and Harrison Belden ripped a single to put runners at the corners with no outs. Rindner would bring home Jirovec on a groundout for the opening run of the game. Then, following a walk by Nathan Bae, Michael Gladden would rip a two-run triple into the right field corner to give UChicago a 3-0 lead after one.
In the top of the second inning, the Grizzlies took advantage of a rough outing for UChicago starter Corey Savedoff. Savedoff walked five batters in the inning before a bases-clearing double would bring home three more runs to put Franklin on top 5-3. Savedoff would throw just 1.2 innings with six earned runs despite allowing just two balls to be put into play.
The offensive explosion continued in the bottom of the second inning for the Maroons. After a leadoff walk by Jack Sharp, Luke Weston doubled and Braden Jirovec singled home both runs to cut the lead to one.
Two innings later, UChicago would take advantage of Franklin mistakes as the Grizzlies would allow an infield pop-up to drop between four of their players to put Weston on second with his second double of the game. Franklin would then walk two batters and hit another to bring home the game-tying run and load the bases with no outs in the fourth. After the pitching change, Nathan Bae would single home two runs, and Max Wiesner would bring home a third on a sacrifice fly to put the Maroons on top 9-6.
After a three-run home run tied the game in the top of the fifth for the Grizzlies, the Maroons would string together four consecutive two-out hits as Harrison Belden singled and Erik Rindner singled home a run. Then, following a single by Nathan Bae, Max Wiesner ripped a two-run double into right-center field to put the Maroons back on top 12-9 through five.
The UChicago pitching would step up in the sixth and seventh innings as Grant Tenuta and Wade Hartrick combined to retire eight of the ten batters they faced in 2.2 innings to help keep the Maroons in front. UChicago would tack on a pair of insurance runs in the sixth as Lucien Reed reached on a hit by pitch and Jack Sharp doubled. Braden Jirovec would then single home Reed and Sharp scored on a wild pitch. Then, the Maroons would add one more run in the seventh as Wiesner followed up a Bae walk with an RBI double to stretch the lead to 15-9.
Charlie Hahn and David Flanagan would lock down the win on the mound in the final two innings. After allowing the first two runners to reach in the eighth, Hahn enduced a ground ball double play and a strikeouts to end the threat. Then, Flanagan added another shutout inning to seal the 15-9 win for the Maroons.
On offensive, the Maroons combined for 16 hits and 15 runs with 14 RBIs in the win. Luke Weston led the team with four hits and three runs scored, and Nathan Bae added two hits, three runs scored, a pair of RBIs, and three walks. Braden Jirovec also added three hits and three RBIs, and Max Wiesner led the team with four RBIs in the win.
Grant Tenuta earned his fifth career win in relief for the Maroons with 1.2 innings of shutout baseball with two strikeouts and just one hit allowed. As a team, the UChicago bullpen combined to throw 7.1 innings with just four hits and three runs allowed to the potent Franklin offense.
With the win, the Maroons improved to 2-2 on the season.