Baseball Game Preview: Mansfield Hornets vs. Franklin Panthers

The Mansfield Hornets will challenge the Franklin Panthers at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Mansfield 3.9, Franklin 3.6) so any runs scored will be well earned.

Mansfield took a loss when they played away from home on Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Monday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Canton, sneaking past 3-1. The win continues a trend for the Hornets in their matchups with the Bulldogs: they've now won six in a row.

Jack Peabody

Hits Against

04/16/25 @ North Attleborough	10
04/10/25 vs Attleboro	7
03/27/25 vs Dighton-Rehoboth Regional	4
04/28/25 vs Milford	3
04/02/25 @ Oliver Ames	3
+ 1 more games

Jack Peabody spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered a run (which was unearned) on one hit and racked up 11 Ks. He has become a key player for Mansfield: the team is undefeated when he allows at most three hits, but 5-7 otherwise.

At the plate, Mansfield's victory was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Riley Sigman, who went a perfect 1-for-1 with two runs.

Meanwhile, Franklin didn't have quite enough to beat Canton on Thursday and fell 7-5.

Mansfield pushed their record up to 8-7 with the win, which was their third straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.3 runs on average over those games. As for Franklin, they now have a losing record of 5-6.

Mansfield came out on top in a nail-biter against Franklin when the teams last played back in April of 2024, sneaking past 1-0. Will the Hornets repeat their success, or do the Panthers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.