Through six and a third innings, Fayetteville’s pitcher had seen the minimum number of hitters. Lexi Franklin interrupted that in a big way, but Fayetteville went on to a 5-1 win.
Franklin, who had been the only Lady Bearcat to reach base in the game but had erased on a double play after drawing a first inning walk, drilled her ninth home run of the season to left center to break up the no-hit bid.
Franklin wasn’t too bad herself in the circle. She struck out nine Lady Purple Dogs giving her 303 strikeouts on the season and 994 in her career going into Thursday’s regional tournament game.
Fayetteville jumped in front 2-0 in the first inning and added an unearned run in the third. The Class 6a opponent made it 5-0 in the fourth.
Franklin allowed just five hits in the game and she walked just two.
The game completes the regular season for the Lady Bearcats, who face opposition from Class 2A-6A and are 21-10 going into the Class 3A Region 1 tournament.
Second seeded from Conference 3A-4, the Lady Bearcats open the tournament against Conference 3A-1 third seeded Flippin at 5:30 on Thursday. Valley Springs is the tournament host at Harrison Parks and Recreation.
FRANKLIN BREAKS UP NO-HITTER WITH HOMER
