March 29, 2002

BOX SCORE

FRANKLIN, Indiana ­ The Quakers of Wilmington College increased their winning streak to four with a 4-2 victory over the Franklin Grizzlies on Thursday afternoon. The hero of the game was sophomore first baseman Aaron Lawson (Hebron/Lakewood) as he hit a lead-off solo home run in the top of the ninth, breaking a two all tie. The Quakers tacked on one more insurance run in the inning before holding the hosts scoreless in their half of the ninth.

The Quakers got on the board first in the third inning as Justin Evans (Franklin/Franklin) knocked in Josh Martin (Circleville/Circleville) who reached on a single and then stole second base. The Grizzlies then answered back with a run of their own in their half of the third to knot the score at 1 all.

In the sixth inning the Quakers would once again take the lead as Evans hit a double to right-center field before Al Ledford (Blanchester/Blanchester) knocked him in with a double of his own. As in the third inning, Franklin answered back to tie the score at two, going into the seventh inning.

The Quakers were held scoreless until the ninth inning when Lawson hit the lead-off solo home run to give Wilmington their 3-2 lead. The Green and White would tack on one more run when Jess Shepherd (Lexington, KY/Lexington Catholic) hit into a fielder's choice, scoring Brent Bird (Hilliard/Hilliard Darby). The Grizzles fought back, getting two runners on base with only one out in the ninth before relief pitcher John Elsen (Fairfield/Fairfield) settled down, getting the next two batters to ground out and fly out respectively.

Elsen (2-1) picked up the win for the Quakers, pitching three and two-thirds innings in relief while Harden (3-1) of Franklin got his first loss of the year. Bird and Evans each went two-for-four in the win to lead the Quakers.

The win brings Wilmington's season record to 7-5 on the year as Franklin falls to 10-4. The next game for the Green and White is Saturday, March 30, as the team takes on last year's NCAA Division III runner-up Marietta College in a doubleheader at Tewksbury-Delany Field on the campus of Wilmington College.