Posted originally on Mar 16, 2024:Trine Struggles at Franklin

FRANKLIN, Ind. – The Trine University baseball team fell in each of the first two games in their three-game set against Franklin College. On Saturday, the Thunder (7-5) fell to the Grizzlies (8-4) by a score of 12-7 in game one and 13-10 in game two of a doubleheader.

GAME ONE RECAP:

Starting pitcher Josh Hoogewerf (1-2) held Franklin off the scoreboard over the first two innings, but the third would provide problems for the senior as four runs came across. Trine added three runs themselves with a two-run single by Preston Henschen and a bases loaded walk by Cole Temple, but the Grizzlies would duplicate their luck in the bottom half of the inning to make it 8-3.

Crooked innings continued as the Thunder had four run scoring hits in the sixth. Temple, Daniel Rumberger and Joel Walton all had RBI doubles with Brody Bond adding a two-out single to bring Trine to within one at 8-7. However, another four-run inning for Franklin allowed them to scoot away to the 12-7 win.

Walton had three hits in game one, while Bond, Easton Rhodes and Henschen added a pair of hits each. Temple and Luke Burford reached base three times with two walks on their ledger.

GAME TWO RECAP:

Franklin used extra-base hits in each of the first two innings to go up 3-0, but Trine would plate three of their own in the top of the third. Rhodes would drive in two of those runs with a one-out single to left. Dalton Nikirk and Walton had RBI hits in the fourth to take a 5-3 lead, however a crooked number in the bottom of the fifth for Franklin put the home team ahead 10-5.

A homerun by Bond, the first of his career, helped keep the Thunder alive, but through seven, the score read 13-7. Rumberger and Rhodes added homeruns in the top of the eighth, but it was not enough to overcome the deficit as the team would fall 13-10.

Rhodes drove in a team-high four runs in the game on a 3-for-5 day. Walton, Rumberger and Cole Schmidthuber had multiple hits for the team as well. Evan Shoppell (0-1) held the loss, but starter Will Gimbel led the team with three strikeouts on the bump.

UP NEXT:

The third and final game of the series takes place on Sunday, March 17 beginning at 12 p.m.

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