Franciscan 8, Chatham 2 - seven innings
 
Franciscan Lineup
Patrick Wallace 3B, Noah Smith CF, Chris Furka SS, Joshua Costello 1B, Kyle Ferrance RF, Brendan Burke C, Joshua Speaker DH, Peter Falconite 2B, Daniel Halsey LF & Pitching - Jacob Watson 

Chatham Lineup
Swartz CF, Cuello DH, Lehman C, Scarsella RF, Miller 1B, Clark LF, Griener 3B, Akers 2B, Paulson SS & Pitching - Shawley 
 
How It Happened

The Franciscan Baseball team would play Chatham for the first time in school history on Saturday. They would start the series off on the right foot, by securing an 8-2 win in the first game of the doubleheader. Franciscan would get a stellar pitching performance from sophomore Jacob Watson, who would go the distance for the Barons. Joshua Costello and Kyle Ferrance would lead Franciscan batters with three hits apiece and combine for five RBIs in the victory.  

The Barons would not waste time getting the bats going, as they plated four runs in the first inning. Patrick Wallace would leadoff the day with an infield single, and he would swipe second base. Noah Smith would get nit by a pitch, and Chris Furka drew a walk. In a blink of the eye, the bases were loaded with Barons. Joshua Costello would knock a single into center field that would score Wallace from third and Smith from second. Kyle Ferrance would follow Costello's lead by singling up the middle to score Furka. Designated Hitter Joshua Speaker would get on base by a error out in center field that would score Costello, to give the Barons a 4-0 edge. 

The top of the order would get it started again in the fourth inning, as Wallace and Smith would reach base thanks to errors by the Chathma third baseman. Chris Furka would come to bat with runners at the corners and one out. He would send a ball deep enough to right field to score Wallace on a sacrifice fly. Joshua Costello would keep up his strong hitting day, as he roped a double into left, that would score Smith. Kyle Ferrance would follow that up with a single, that would score Costello, and the Barons would be ahead 7-0. 

The Cougars would get on the board in the bottom of the forth and fifth, as they would add one run in each inning. Franciscan starter Jacob Watson held the Cougars hitless through three innings and was able to work efficiently throughout the game.

Kyle Ferrance led off the seventh with another hit, a single to right field. With two outs, freshman Peter Falconite drew a walk to extend the inning. Daniel Halsey would reach on an error by the shortstop, that would allow Ferrance to score and bump the Baron lead up to 8-2. Watson would get the final three outs in the bottom half, to give the Barons the win in game one.

At the Plate
-Joshua Costello led the way with three hits, three RBIs and two runs scored.
-Patrick Wallace and Noah Smith each scored two runs.
-Kyle Ferrance kept on getting hits, as he had three hits on the day.
-Freshman Peter Falconite earned his first start, drew a walk and registered his first hit.
-DH Joshua Speaker hit his first triple of the year.
  
On the Mound
-Starter Jacob Watson was able to go the distance and register the complete game win.
-Watson struck out six and walked five in his first win of 2021.
-Chatham's starter Shawley was able to go five innings, before Couchman pitched the final two innings. 

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Franciscan 6, Chatham 5 - nine innings
 
Franciscan Lineup
Patrick Wallace 3B,Peter Falconite 2B, Chris Furka SS, Joshua Costello 1B, Kyle Ferrance RF, Dylan Robb C, Joshua Speaker DH, James Becker CF, Daniel Halsey LF & Pitching - Noah Smith
 
Chatham Lineup
Swartz CF, Cuello DH, Lehman C, Miller 2B, Shawley 1B, Marshall SS, Vogel RF, Griener 3B, DeLuca LF & Pitching - Adonisio

How It Happened
The Barons would win game two of the doubleheader at Chatham by a score of 6-5. Franciscan seemed to be in total control of this one early, as starter Noah Smith cruised through seven only allowing two runs. Patrick Wallace would allow three runs in the ninth to make it close, but was able to get the final out and secure their second conference win of the day. 

The Franciscan bats would get after it early once again in this one. Patrick Wallace would hit a lead off single to left field, and then Chris Furka would hit a double, to set runners at second and third with one out. Costello would draw a walk to load the bases for Kyle Ferrance. He would delivery with another hit to right field, that would score Wallace. Robb would fly out, and then Joshua Speaker would hit an infield single that would result in an out at home without a run scoring. Barons would head to the bottom half of the first up 1-0. 

Chris Furka would connect on one for another double in the top of the fifth, to get the rally of extra-base hits going. Joshua Costello would drive him in on a double to left center. Kyle Ferrance would drive a triple into center field to score Costello, and Dylan Robb would double in Ferrance. Four extra-base hits in a row to plate three runs and take a 4-0 lead. 

The Barons would continue to add runs in the sixth. James Becker would hit a leadoff single to center, and he would swiped second base a couple pitches later. That would be crucial, as Halsey would bunt for a single, and Becker would score on a throwing error by the Chatham pitcher. Patrick Wallace would then reach base on an error and steal second base as well. Furka would continue his strong day by hitting a single to left field that would score Wallace. Barons would lead 6-0 heading to the bottom of the sixth. 

Chatham would get a rally going of there own in the bottom of the sixth. With runners at the corners, a double steal would score a runner from third that successfully stole home. Lehman would double in the runner from second later in the inning to tighten the gap to a 6-2 game. 

Patrick Wallace would come in to relieve Smith, who pitched a great seven innings of work. Wallace retired the side in the eighth with not much of a problem, but the ninth would get interesting. The Cougars would lead off the inning with back to back hits and a walk. Marshall would single in Miller to make it 6-3. Then with two out Griener would rope a double to right center that plated a pair of runs. The winning run came to the plate in DeLuca, but Wallace was able to get him to ground out to Chris Furka to end the ballgame.


At the Plate
-Chris Furka had a team high four hits, by going 4-5 with two doubles in game two.
-Kyle Ferrance had two hits including a triple and drove in a team high two runs.
-Costello would continue to reach base, as he had a double, walk and hit by pitch.
-James Becker and Patrick Wallace each successfully stole a base, while Daniel Halsey was caught stealing.
  
On the Mound
-Noah Smith had his best outing of the year going seven strong with two earned runs.
-Smith struck out six and walked none. He moves to 2-0 on the year.
-Patrick Wallace relieved Smith in the eighth, and he would lock it down, but not without a little scare, as Chatham plated three earned runs on him in the ninth.

Up Next
Franciscan will return home for a Sunday doubleheader against Chatham. The first game is scheduled for nine innings and will count against PAC conference records. The second game will be a non-conference game and is scheduled for seven innings.

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