Terrell grand slam lifts Panthers over Mustangs
Panther baseball’s regular season is nearing its end.
On the week of April 20 they played three of their last five games, including Mountain Eight matchups with Tuscola and Smoky Mountain. With two wins they improved their record to 11-8 overall, ahead of their final conference series with West Henderson.
On April 21, they hosted Smoky on McConnell Field for the first of a two-game conference series. There the Mustangs drew first blood, scoring the game’s first run off three second-inning singles. Franklin’s offense roared to life in the bottom of the third, plating four runs off doubles from Gunner McConnell, Anderson Terrell and Addix Sutton.
Brayden Greenwood kept Franklin’s offense rolling in the fourth, leading off the bottom of the inning with a solo home run. Matters only grew worse for the Mustangs from there, as three more Panthers reached base led by a double from Damion Bowles. With the bases loaded Terrell broke the game wide open, belting Franklin’s second home run of the inning for a grand slam.
Down 9-1 the Mustangs attempted a comeback in the sixth, scoring five runs off four singles, a double and a walk. Franklin stayed hot in the bottom of the inning however, plating three more runs off two singles, two doubles and a walk. Greenwood took the mound as Franklin’s closer in the seventh, tossing a 1-2-3 frame with two strikeouts to win 12-6.
Terrell was Franklin’s workhorse throughout the game, tossing five and one-third innings of four-hit ball on the mound and going 3-for-4 with two doubles and the grand slam at the plate.
“Honestly, I was trying to hit it back up the middle, right back at the pitcher's head – that's what we’re taught,” said Terrell of his first career grand slam. “He left it up, so I just turned on it. I hit it and didn't really know where it went; I just took off running, and [first base coach Jeff Graham] was like, ‘It's gone.’ I was like, ‘Sweet.’”
As a junior on a young Panther team, Terrell’s play has set an example this year, helping navigate what at times has been an up-and-down season. Despite playing in a difficult conference, he believes the squad has improved in recent weeks.
“We're coming together as a team, playing a lot better baseball than we were,” he said. “At the plate especially we're seeing it a lot better. We've got to pick up on throwing strikes, but other than that we're doing pretty good.”
The next night the Panthers traveled to Tuscola to rehash their 5-4 loss to the Mountaineers April 13. Once again the Mounties struck first, scoring one run apiece in the first two innings. Franklin answered with runs of their own in the third and fourth, but Tuscola exploded for eight runs in the fifth and sixth. Caden Mason did yeoman’s work in the 10-2 loss, tossing five innings of six-hit, three-strikeout ball.
Two nights later the Panthers traveled to Smoky Mountain, exploding for five runs in the second. They churned out 11 more runs in the next three innings to trigger the 10-run mercy rule and win 16-3.
Paxton Sutton led all Panthers at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a double, three RBIs and three runs scored. Greenwood pitched a five-inning complete game, dealing seven strikeouts and allowing just two hits.
The win improved Franklin’s record to 11-8 overall and 5-7 in the Mountain Eight, where they ended the week in fifth place. As the state’s 23rd-ranked 5A team, the Panthers stood squarely inside the classification’s projected 48-team playoff field.
Upon returning home from Sylva, the team prepared for their last week of the regular season, hosting West Henderson in Game 1 of a two-game conference series April 28.