Beare laced a 1-1 pitch down the right-field line to score pinch runner Chase Caudill home with the winning run in a 2-1 Eagles win.
“Coach kept telling me to say in the game,” Beare said. “When he called my name, I knew I had to do something.”
Lakins recorded the first two outs in the 10th inning, but Keenan Wilson reached on the fourth Franklin error of the night before scoring on Beare’s walk-off single.
“I was looking for a fastball because the first time I was up, that was all he gave me and I felt like I had the timing down,” Beare said. “I saw the pitch. It was outside and I just took it that way. I was just hoping that it wouldn’t go foul.”
The Eagles got a big boost heading into the bottom of the 10th after first baseman Eli Bristow made a diving catch of a line drive with Lakins on first and two outs.
“That was one of those turning points,” Visser said. “That was a game-changing play. It got the momentum back in our dugout and it carried over to the bottom of the inning.”
Franklin got on the board in the first inning when Lakins’ sacrifice fly plated Matt Thompson, but the Wildcats were 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position the rest of the game.
“It was a lack of execution and unless you are scoring eight or 10 runs a game, that is something you can’t do,” Franklin coach Jake Long said after his squad dropped it’s fifth straight to fall to 10-7 overall and 4-3 in the Southwestern Buckeye League. “If you don’t do the little things right, they will beat you. We had our chances, but their pitcher threw a great game. He pitched out of jams.”
Kyle Shepherd went the first nine innings for the Eagles and believes the key was being where he wanted to be with each batter. Shepherd threw first pitch strikes to 33 of the 36 hitters he faced.
“That is our goal as a staff is to work ahead of the hitters,” Shepherd said after the Eagles improved to 9-4 and 3-1. “I had confidence the whole game. I felt like I had my stuff working and I was confident knowing I had a strong defense behind me.”
Eaton tied the score in the third inning when Andrew Holderman doubled and scored on a throwing error as he stole third. The Eagles had just one more runner reach second base the rest of the way until the game winner.
“That’s deep in the playoffs baseball,” Visser said.
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