Baseball: Defensive Missteps Burn Indians in Loss to Towson

Early on this season Franklin made it a habit of playing sound defensive baseball and forcing teams to earn runs against them.

However, Thursday afternoon against Towson, the Indians made a few key errors that either directly led to runs or preceded timely hitting, falling to the Generals, 7-5, in eight innings.

Trailing 5-4 in the last of the seventh, a clutch, two-out triple by catcher Mike Skaro plated the tying run in Brad Dioguardo who had led off with a single. But, the Indians couldn’t carry that momentum onto the field defensively in the extra frame.

Nine-hole hitter Scott Mackall reached on a one-out bunt single and after another bunt moved him to second, Kevin Francis pounded a grounder to third baseman Dustin Halle who fielded the ball cleanly but sailed his throw over first base to score Mackall.

Towson would single home Francis to make the score 7-5 and then retired Franklin’s 7-8-9 hitters in order in the bottom of the eight to secure the win.

“We definitely went from a team that made key plays to get out of situations to a team that can’t seem to make the key plays to get out of situations,” Franklin coach Tim Gordon said after the game. “It’s something we have to get better at and move forward with. That’s all there is to it.”

Seemingly in control through the first five frames, Franklin (5-3) coasted into the top of the sixth with a 3-1 lead. However, the Generals would go on to bat around in the inning, stringing together five singles to put a four-spot on the board and take a 5-3 advantage.

None of the hits off starter Matt Goodman were struck particularly well (in fact, the hardest hit ball of the inning landed in left fielder Mike Pavsner’s glove for the final out), but Towson (5-2) was able to find holes in the infield and bloop in a couple hits to keep the merry-go-round rolling.

With the score tied at three and two outs, Goodman plunked Josh Marshall to load the bases for Francis who grounded a ball deep in the hole between short and third.

Shortstop Tyler Silbersack backhanded the roller and had nowhere to go as one run would come in, however the freshman cleverly pump-faked to first and induced the runner on third to take off for home. But, Silbersack’s toss flew well over the head of Skaro allowing the fourth run of the inning to score.  

Goodman, who Gordon said didn’t have his best stuff throughout the game, surrendered 11 hits and walked two but produced double plays in the first and fourth innings to escape out of jams up until that point.  

“Too many guys on base throughout the game…but he fought through it,” Gordon said of his starter. “When it comes down to it you can’t have that many guys on base every inning and expect to get out of a jam every time.”

Franklin took a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Andy Thompson mashed a double to deep,dead center that scored Dioguardo and then scored on Skaro’s single between short and third.

The Generals plated their first run of the game in the top of the third with assistance from Goodman who overthrew first base on a Francis drag bunt, putting runners on a second and third for an Andrew Killom sacrifice fly.  

Ryan Silcott’s two-out single in the bottom of the fourth pushed the lead back to two. 

However, Gordon is focusing more on what his squad needs to do in the field as opposed to what it is doing at the plate.

“Last two games a lot of guys have come up big offensively and picked up the slack,” Gordon said. “But unfortunately, when you don’t make the plays defensively it doesn’t matter how well you hit the ball. But, we showed a lot of fight today, showed a lot of character and I think that will pay off in the long run.”

BOX SCORE

Towson 7, Franklin 5, 8 innings

T 001 004 02----7 11 3

F 200 101 10----5 9 4

Pitching

T                              IP            R             H             BB           K

Francis  (W)        7              5              9              1              6

Kelly (S)                1              0              0              0              1

F

Goodman (L)     8              7              11           2              5

Batting

RBI: T-Merson 2, Stark 2, Francis, Killom.

        F-Skaro 2, Thompson, Silcott.

2B: F-Thompson, Esterson.

3B: F-Skaro.

SB: F-Pavsner 2, Silcott, Dioguardo, Esterson.