Often times the keys to winning in playoff baseball are to be sound in all three phases of the game — pitching, defense and timely hitting.

The Franklin County High School baseball team managed to be effective in all three Friday night.

Thomas Slagle tossed seven dazzling innings and the Bulldogs came up with the clutch hits when they needed them most as Franklin County got past St. Patrick 4-0 in a second round MHSAA Class 3A playoff game.

“Thomas did a great job on the mound, and we found a way to put the ball in play and score a couple of runs and give some help,” FCHS coach Joshua Thibodeaux said. “Defensively we also played very well.”

The win gives FCHS (19-6) a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.

“When you’re able to protect your home field, that means a lot,” Thibodeaux said. “Knowing that you have one win already, that’s a big help. It’s a big win for us.”

The two teams went scoreless to the bottom of the fourth inning when Franklin County broke through.

Garrett Smith delivered a clutch two-out single to score Jacob Clanton. The single was one of 14 hits in the game for the Bulldogs.

Following a quick top of the fifth, Franklin County kept the pressure scoring two more runs in the bottom of the frame.

The first four batters of the inning all tallied singles, including run-scoring base hits by Slagle and Clay Wright.

“One of the things we preach is it doesn’t matter how many outs, we have to find a way to move runners over and eventually get a big hit,” Thibodeaux said. “A couple of our big hits tonight came with two outs, and that’s huge in baseball.”

From there, Slagle took care of the rest. The senior hurler allowed just four hits in the game while striking out six batters. Slagle also tallied two hits.

De’Martre Collins and Dalivan Hunt each finished with three hits for Franklin County, while Jacob Jordan added a single.

Game 2 of the series will be at 3 p.m. today at St. Patrick.

“I hope our guys stay focused and are ready, because we want to play again next Friday,” Thibodeaux said.

 

MHSAA CLASS 3A PLAYOFFS

GAME 1 OF BEST-OF-3 SERIES

FRANKLIN COUNTY 4, ST. PATRICK 0

SPHS 000 000 0 — 0 3 1

FCHS 000 131 X — 4 14 0

WP — Thomas Slagle (7 IP, 3 Hs, 6 Ks)

LP — Seth Allen

HITTERS — De’Martre Collins (3-4, 2 SBs, 1 R), Jacob Clanton (2-3, 1 R), Jacob Jordan (1-3), Dalivan Hunt (3-4, 1 R, 1 RBI), Garrett Smith (1-3, 1 RBI, 1 R), Clay Wright (1 1B, 1 RBI), Slagle (2-3, 1 RBI).

RECORD — FCHS: 19-6. SPHS: 9-4

UP NEXT — Game 2 today of series at 3 p.m. at St. Patrick.