Seahawks close out month with three wins

Franklin County varsity baseball closed out the last two
weeks of March by bouncing back from consecutive losses to record three
straight wins.

On March 11 at home, the Seahawks fell 2-1 to Cottondale.

“In this game, we just could not get the big hit needed to
get runs in,” said Coach Kevin Cox, who is assisted by Gene McLeod. “We had
some chances early to score and did not come up with the hit.

“Cottondale is a very solid team and both games we played
came down to one swing,” Cox said. “And this time they got it.”

Sophomore Evan Stanley and junior Wil Varnes each had a hit.
Pitching was solid from Varnes, sophomore Chase Crum and freshman Cody
Abercrombie.

On March 17, at home, the Seahawks fell 11-1 to Wakulla.

“A game where we came out very flat. Wakulla is too good of
a team to play that way,” Cox said. “We made a few key mistakes early and the
game got away from us. We just never got anything going with the bats.

Varnes had a double and batted in the lone run.

On March 22 at Vernon, the Seahawks won 24-4.

“This was a real big game for many reasons,” Cox said. “One
it’s a district game, as well as the fact that we had not played well the last
two games over spring break and coming off the Port St. Joe win.

“This was a game that we got key hits early and put six runs
up in the first inning. Once we got up, I think the guys relaxed some and from
there we just poured it on,” said the head coach.

Sophomore Wyatt Abercrombie led the way with four hits and
six runs batted in, and his brother Cody was not far off with three hits.

“It was another solid effort from the pitching of Chase Crum
as well. He pitched two solid innings and junior Garrison Cook pitched two
scoreless innings for the save,” Cox said.

The top of the lineup was solid at the plate, as Stanley,
Varnes and Crum each had two hits. “Just a big win to get back on track, and
set the tone for the upcoming week,” he said.

On March 24 at Godby, in a mid-week game on the road, the
Seahawks won 12-1.

The game was dominated by Stanley’s pitching as he hurled four
innings, giving up just one hit and one run. He also chipped in two hits.

Wyatt Abercrombie added two hits and four runs batted in,
while Chase Crum had a great day at the plate with three hits, two of them
doubles, and three runs batted in.

“Any time you go on the road and get a win, it’s a good
thing,” said Cox.

The Seahawks finished out the week on the road on March 24
with a 12-7 district win at Wewa.

“Wewa may be winless right now but I knew they were way
better than their record showed. They have played a strong schedule and being
at their house I knew this would be tough,” said Cox. “Early on we made some
mistakes, and they took advantage of it.”

Down 7-4 through three innings, Franklin County scraped and
clawed early just to stay in it, before Cody Abercrombie came in relief and
kept the Seahawks in it, giving up just three runs over 5 and 1/3rd innings.

“His performance allowed us to stay in the game until the fifth
when we finally had a big inning,” said Cox. “This was a complete team win as
we had some young players get their first real varsity action due to some
injuries.

“Freshmen Brayden McCall, CJ Conway, Will Luberto and Logan
Bentley all contributed with either a run scored or solid defense. Just could
not be more proud of those guys as we needed every one of them to come back in
this game,” Cox said. “Sophomore Jordan Olson stepped up as well behind the
plate and gave us a solid game at catcher.”

Cook and Chase Crum lead the way on offense with three hits
and two doubles apiece. Stanley had two hits and Varnes a hit and two runs
batted in.

“We had chances to score more runs early but hit balls hard
right at people,” the coach said. “Even though we were down I felt like we
would battle back because we had been swinging the bats well all week. Good to
pick up a win like this where you don’t play your best early but you keep
plugging away and battling and then you overcome the adversity because everyone
does the job they are asked to do. A great way to finish out a three-win
week.”