BUDE — Franklin County senior Blaine Abernathy saw first career home run to lead the Bulldogs to a 4-1 victory over North Pike here Thursday night.
It was Franklin County’s first win over the Jaguars in Bude since 2002. Big plays, big hits and some crafty pitching by senior southpaw Ben McDowell gave the Bulldogs the edge.
“Our guys came out pumped up,” Franklin County head coach Jeremy Loy said. “We came out and hit the ball well early and made some big plays the entire game.”
Loy said he was worried about how his team would respond after the contest was postponed two days due to weather.
Abernathy, a 6-foot-2, 160-pound senior made the biggest play when he belted a two-run shot into a deck of pine trees in right field during the first inning to provide the Bulldogs an early advantage.
With a 3-0 lead, Franklin County McDowell made sure North Pike wasn’t going to spoil the fun. He struck out eight and walked three, but the Jaguars didn’t make it easy.
North Pike scored on an error in the fourth to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 4-1. In the fifth inning, Jaguar freshman Revis Butler gave the Bulldogs a scare with a bases-loaded fly that Franklin County junior centerfielder Jordan Hunt snagged at the fence over teammate Matt Lofton.
“That scared me,” Loy said. “If that goes over it’s a tie game, thankfully Jordan (Hunt) went and got it.”
North Pike pitcher Dustin Miller kept his team within striking distance with an excellent display of change-ups and fastballs. Through six innings Miller allowed just four hits. McDowell counted with a four-hitter himself through seven innings of work.
“Ben pitched a good game,” Loy said. “He kept them guessing out there.”
Keiron Robinson had two singles to lead the Jaguars, while Drew Worthy and Butler also singled.
For the Bulldogs (14-3, 9-0), Jordan Hunt led all batters with a double and a single.
The Bulldogs and Jaguars resume play tonight in Summit with junior varsity beginning at 5 in Game 2 of the series for the district title. Franklin County doesn’t have to win, but at the worst lose by less than three runs to claim the title outright.
