Baseball Recap: West Philadelphia Has No Trouble Against Franklin Learning Center

West Philadelphia made up a huge gap compared to their last game against Franklin Learning Center, but they still couldn't quite topple them. The Speedboys put the hurt on the Bobcats with a sharp 18-11 victory on Friday. The result was nothing new for the Speedboys, who have now won three matchups by seven runs or more so far this season.

Anderson Hilerio- Marte made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over three innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits (and only one walk). He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in four consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, scoring three runs while going 4-for-5. Those four hits gave him a new career-high.

Zion Shelby

Hits (Career)

04/04/25 vs Franklin Learning Center	3
03/18/25 vs Tacony Academy Charter	2
03/27/25 @ Constitution	1
04/29/24 vs Murrell Dobbins Vo-Tech	1
04/15/24 @ Bodine	1

In other batting news, Wali Thompson and Zion Shelby did most of the damage at the plate: Thompson scored two runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances, while Shelby scored a run while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. The dominant performance also gave Shelby a new career-high in hits (three).

West Philadelphia always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .667. That was just more of the same: they've now posted an OBP of .514 or higher every time they've taken the field this season.

West Philadelphia's win bumped their record up to 4-1. As for Franklin Learning Center, they now have a losing record of 2-3.

Coming up, West Philadelphia will square off against Martin Luther King at 3:15 p.m. on Monday. The Speedboys will need to watch out since the Cougars have now posted at least ten runs every time they've taken the field this season. As for Franklin Learning Center, they will host Science Leadership Academy at Beeber at 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday. The Rockets have struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed 17.5 runs per game on average), something the Bobcats will no doubt try to take advantage of.