Trip south pays dividends for Franklin Regional baseball

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, April 6, 2018 | 4:18 PM

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Among the many well wishes that come along with leaving on a mid-March trip south to Florida, there's one phrase that never escapes the Western Pennsylvania vernacular: “Bring back some of that warm weather and sunshine.”

It's clear by the soggy start to the WPIAL baseball season that the phrase either fell on deaf ears or the Franklin Regional baseball team quite simply didn't have enough space to pack 80-degree temperatures and sunshine on it's return trip. The Panthers' team bag was packed with confidence and splitting at the seams with potential when it came off the conveyor at Pittsburgh International Airport.

“It was a great time,” senior pitcher Alex Frye said. “I really have high hopes after this trip. Our bats came around. We've always had solid pitching and defense but have been streaky with the bats, and I'm really excited for what that can mean for this year.”

The trip from Pittsburgh to Orlando International Airport was more like a military deployment than anything else. Once the wheels touched down on the Orlando tarmac, the Panthers hopped aboard a bus for a 90-minute ride to complete the final leg of their trip to Vero Beach's Historic Dodgertown.

Once the team arrived, there were no quick sightseeing tours or pizza parties. Franklin Regional (3-1) went straight to work at one of the complex's ball fields. The Panthers had to gear up for a scrimmage under the lights.

How was a team expected to perform after having travelled all day by plane and bus? The answer is: spectacular. The Panthers put 23 runs on the board in what finished up as a 23-0 win over Lutheran (Colo.).

“It all started from game No. 1,” Frye said. “After a long day like that and having the bats show up like that … I believe we had a no-hitter going into the last inning.”

And then, the 2018 Panthers were off. The 23-run output opened everybody's eyes.

“You sit there and you try and find your identity down south, and it's also about team chemistry,” Franklin Regional coach Bob Saddler. “We're finding where certain guys fit in and what roles they're going to play throughout the season.”

In all, Franklin Regional played three varsity games, two scrimmages and one JV game down south.

Make no mistake about it, the Panthers went down there on a mission. Sure there's beaches and seafood restaurants located on every corner of every block, but beneath all of the distractions there was a Franklin Regional team that went about it's work with precise focus.

Junior hurler Palmer Jackson delivered an 11-0 win over Loveland (Ohio) in Franklin Regional's first varsity game. Palmer pitched all six innings to start the season with a shut out.

“We're just trying to figure out who we have for the year,” said sophomore catcher Bryson Harper, a Virginia Tech recruit. “It's good for hitters to see better pitching than they'll see up here and for the pitchers get to see good hitters.”

Franklin Regional found itself in a pitchers' dual in its second game against Evanston (Ill.). Frye was throwing a no-hitter and the Evanston pitcher had given up just one hit going into the final inning where Evanston broke the game open and delivered a 4-1 win.

“(Frye) was amazing in that game, and he was throwing hard,” Saddler said. “(The Evanston coach and I ) were saying that one of these kids pitching were going to lose the game, and no one deserved to lose.”

The Panthers wrapped up their stay at Dodgertown with a 13-8 win over Medina (Ohio) before returning home. Junior pitcher Bronson Ianno notched his first win of the season.

Franklin Regional, which also defeated Gateway, 3-2, last week, compiled a .350 team batting average on the trip. Freshman right-hander Andrew Muraco sported a .417 average and is tied for the team lead with five runs scored. Freshman Louis Kegerreis and juniors Shane Sciorilli and Jake Williams lead the Panthers with four RBIs.

The Panthers also learned on their trip that Sciorilli is the team “strongman” and the Panthers' biggest eater. Sophomore Connor Helm and junior Matthew Fitzmaurice are the comedians. By all accounts, Frye is the best story teller and ultimate frisbee was the game of choice. And, in what has become a recent tradition, junior David Baird grows the best mustache.

“The parents are really great, and I couldn't speak more highly of the boosters,” Frye said. “The parents are really great and they hooked us up with a lot food and stuff.”

William Whalen is a freelance writer.

Tags: Franklin Regional