Franklin County’s Hunter Bolduc slides safely into the bag as Locke Mills second baseman Spencer Hurd tries to tag Bolduc out in an American Legion baseball game at Hippach Field in Farmington on Tuesday evening. (Tony Blasi/Sun Journal)
FARMINGTON — It was a mixture of timely hitting, strong defense and solid pitching that gave Locke Mills the impetus to sidestep pesky Franklin County in an American Legion baseball game under the lights at Hippach Field on Tuesday night.
Of course, a five-run uprising in the fifth inning certainly helped Locke Mills slip away with a 6-3 victory over winless Franklin County.
“Tonight, the guys played together,” Locke Mills (2-4) coach Todd Wheeler said. “We are a lot like this Farmington team. We have a lot of guys spread out all over the place and they actually started talking and backing each other up.
“They didn’t let one error get them down. Our four losses, when we had an error, snowballed into another error and these guys stayed behind each other this game. Our pitchers threw strikes and that helped a lot, too.
“They made plays and having fun out there. It is hard not to do good things. It is finally nice to see the guys coming together.”
In that wild fifth inning, Locke Mills used a four-hit attack to push across five runs and put stubborn Franklin County out of business.
Outfielder Tanner Wheeler and Garrett Garbarini each contributed with RBI singles and second baseman Spencer Hurd ripped a two-run double to give Locke Mills a 6-3 lead.
For the evening, Locke Mills hammered out eight hits. Starting pitcher Zack Hill was relieved while Franklin County was in command with a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning.
Reliever Ethan Laubauskas stepped to the mound in the fourth for Locke Mills and held Franklin County in check for the rest of the way.
Franklin County scored another run thanks to an RBI single by Corey Rogers after Miles Pelletier got on with a walk and Logan Moffett and Ethan Andrews each drilled a single to load the bases in the sixth inning.
“They are getting better,” Franklin County coach Kyle Gunzinger said. “Like I said last night, we try to improve them the most we can and go from there. It is a process.
“They (Locke Mills) are a lot like us. They are rural. It was a very good baseball game.”
Locke Mills scored first in the top of the first when Laubauskas got on with a hit and stole both second and third.
Franklin County tied the game in the bottom half. Andrews led off with a single, stole second base and came home on losing pitcher Hunter Bolduc’s fielder’s choice.
Nick Lombardi’s RBI single put Franklin County ahead with a 2-1 lead in the third inning. Franklin supplied eight hits for the night.
Locke Mills’ Ethan Laubauskas slides safely into the bag as Franklin County third baseman Nick Lombardi looks to make the tag in an American Legion baseball game at Hippach Field in Farmington on Tuesday evening. (Tony Blasi/Sun Journal)
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