Franklin County pitcher Ryan Ratcliff had a not-hitter through five innings, only to see that end when West Marion got a single in the top of the sixth inning.

Still, Ratcliff ended up with a complete-game shutout, struck out 10 batters and ended up with a two-hitter as the Bulldogs defeated the Trojans 5-0 Friday night in a Region 7-3A game.

“He pitched a heck of a ballgame. He did a great job,” Franklin County head coach Jeremy Loy said. “He was around the plate all night. He located his fastball well and his curveball. He overpowered them a few times.”

Franklin County (5-6, 2-2) broke a scoreless ball game by scoring three runs in the bottom of the third inning. Even though that was all the run support Ratcliff would need, the Bulldogs tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the fifth.

Even though the Bulldogs finished with seven hits, Loy said his team does have room for improvement at the plate.

“Offensively, I don’t think we’re where we need to be. We need to get more production,” Loy said. “But we’ve been pitching and playing great defense, which has been winning us some games. But sooner or later, we’re going to have to get the bats going.”

Jordan Hunt led Franklin County by going 2-for-3 with a double and Ratcliff helped his cause with a double. And the defense behind Ratcliff committed no errors.