Baseball Game Preview: Franklin Knights vs. Cranberry Area Berries

The Franklin Knights will head out on the road to square off against the Cranberry Area Berries at 4:15 p.m. on Monday. Franklin will be strutting in after a victory while Cranberry Area will be coming in after a loss.

Franklin was handed a nine-run defeat in their previous outing, but that didn't affect their clutch gene on Friday. They skirted past Lakeview 7-5.

Drew Kockler

Runs

05/02/25 vs Lakeview	3
03/19/25 @ Seneca	3
04/17/25 vs Grove City	2
03/27/25 vs Iroquois	2
03/24/25 vs Cochranton	2
+ 2 more games

The team relied heavily on Drew Kockler, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, three runs, and one stolen base. Franklin is undefeated when Kockler posts two or more runs, but 2-8 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Ty Prince, who went 1-for-3 with four RBI and one double.

Meanwhile, Cranberry Area came up short against Clarion Area on Thursday and fell 6-1. The Berries haven't had much luck with the Bobcats recently, as the team has come up short the last nine times they've met.

Cranberry Area saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Jake McCloskey, who went 1-for-2 with one run.

Franklin's win bumped their record up to 7-8. As for Cranberry Area, their loss dropped their record down to 6-6.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Franklin has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Cranberry Area struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.8 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.

Franklin took their victory against Cranberry Area in their previous meeting back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 10-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Knights since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.