Franklinton American comes up short in elimination game at North Regionals
Published 4:05 pm Friday, July 24, 2015
- COURTESY PHOTO Pictured is the Franklinton American Dixie 11-12-year old baseball team, which battled back from a tough inning and nearly pulled off a victory in an elimination game at the North Regionals in Winnsboro. At North Regionals, the squad posted a 1-2 record. The squad lost to Winnsboro, 12-2. Franklinton rebounded in the next game and defeated Vernon Parish, 6-0. The third contest was a 12-11 loss to St. Mary. The team qualified for the event by finishing second at the Dixie Youth Baseball District VI Tournament earlier this month. Pictured (first row, from left) are Chase Penton, Jalen Burkhalter, Tanner Buckley, Jordan Harrison, Landon Keller and Isaac Wascom; (second row, from left) Matthew Ginn, Zach LeMaire, Mike Martin, Hunter Blackwell, Jeffrey Slaughter and Triston Jones; and (third row, from left) Mike Waskom, Jerod Wascom and Chris Ginn.
Franklinton American 11 and 12-year old team tallied a 1-2 record in the North Regional in Winnsboro, La.
Franklinton lost the first game 12-2 to Winnsboro in four innings.
Winnsoboro is about 45 minutes away from Monroe.
The game was scoreless in the bottom of the second. Winnsboro had the bases loaded and two outs. Franklinton recorded the third out but was called for catcher’s interference. That allowed the first run to score and the hitter to reach. The next batter hit a grand slam to make it 5-0.
Winnsboro added four more in the frame and led, 9-0, through two.
Winnsboro put up another run the third, making it a 10-run margin.
Franklinton American rebounded during the fourth inning with two of its own and trailed, 10-2, after 3 1/2.
The two runs came on an RBI groundout by Isaac Wascom and a run-scoring double by Mike Martin.
But Winnsboro ended the game with two in its half of the fourth to force the 10-run rule.
The second game was a 6-0 victory over Vernon Parish.
Wascom pitched a complete game four-hit shutout.
Games are six-innings long. Wascom struckout 12 and walked one.
The third game of the double-elimination tournament was a heartbreaking 12-11 loss to St. Mary.
Franklinton American took an 8-5 lead to the sixth and was still ahead by three with two outs.
But St. Mary rallied for seven runs without hitting a ball out of the infield.
St. Mary took advantage of some walks, infield hits and errors.
Franklinton American trailed, 12-8, going into its final at bat.
The team came back with a rally. The first two hitters were retired. Then the next two batters reached. Wascom was next, and he hit a 3-run homer to centerfield, and the lead was down to one. But the next hitter flew out to end the game.
Franklinton American finished the season with a 10-4 mark.
Franklinton American coach Chris Ginn talked about the season.
“My whole message this season has been, how do you handle adversity? I think this team handled adversity very well,” Ginn said. “You’ve got two choices. You can hang your head and get down on yourself, or you can keep your head up, have fun and live in the moment and come back. They chose the route I wanted them to choose. They kept their head up and kept fighting. They were like that all season and I think that final game showed the way they fought the entire season. It was disappointing to lose, but I’m proud of the way they handled the adversity.”
The winning team from this tournament goes to state for a best of three series.
The victorious team from the North Regional plays the winning team from the South Regional.
