Wabash took a a 4-1 lead in the second inning, manufacturing a run on a sacrifice fly by Garrett Alson (Rensselaer, IN/Rennselaer) scored Jake Knott (Lafayette, IN/Jefferson). Another run scored when Mike Mack (Butler, IN/Eastside) raced home on a failed pickoff attempt at first. The third run of the inning came home when Matt Carlson (Crawfordsville, IN/Crawfordsville) scored on an RBI single by Jake Martin (Rushville, IN/Rushville).
The Little Giants added another run in the fifth inning before Franklin cut the Wabash to lead to two with a run in the seventh.
The game moved to the top of the ninth inning with the Little Giants still clinging to a two-run lead. That quickly dissapeared when the Grizzlies got a pinch-hit two-run from Marty Bowling to tie the game. Franklin recorded five more hits in the inning to take an 8-5 lead going into the final at bats for the Little Giants.
Wabash came up with a run in the ninth on a Brandon Candiano (Dyer, IN/Andrean) double to open the inning. Candiano scored on a Scott Shinkan (Munster, IN/Munster) ground out, but the Little Giants could not cut into anymore of the Franklin lead.
Marc Rowe (West Point, IN/McCutcheon) took the loss for Wabash after throwing 8 1/3 innings, striking out five over that span.
The Little Giants fall to 6-9 with the loss. Wabash will travel to Springfield, OH this weekend to open play in the North Coast Athletic Conference against Wittenberg University.