Franklin High School baseball and softball programs are near the end of 2026 regular season play. While one team is excelling, the other is fighting for a winning record, yet both hope to make a mark in post-season play.
In the newly comprised Mountain Eight Conference (M8C), the road to success is a bit different than years past, but still requires personal effort, teamwork, effective coaching, and dedication throughout the regular season.
Lady Panthers Softball Rolls On
A new year and new M8C again has Head Coach Bobby Bishop’s FHS team in the conference top three at 8-3, trailing only Pisgah (11-1) and West Henderson (10-2) as of April 25.
Franklin thrashed Smoky Mountain last Tuesday 14-2 and again Friday 19-2 giving FHS a 15-6 overall record. At this point, the Lady Panthers are on a six-game winning streak, the second run of that length this season.
If Franklin can close out the regular season by sweeping the West Henderson Lady Falcons, they’ll be the top 5A team come playoff time. Those games are April 28 at home (5:30 p.m.) and April 30 at Hendersonville (6:30 p.m.).
Bishop talked about the season with Macon Sense prior to the second Smoky Mountain game Friday. He said the new structure means a split conference which impacted scheduling. He pointed out that within the new M8C construct, Pisgah is in 4A while West Henderson and Franklin slot in the 5A. Regarding scheduling, the coach expressed some reservations with new changes.
“In years past, we’d play a round through (each team in the conference once) and then play another round through. Now we have to play the same team twice in the same week (like baseball).”
While athletic directors within the conference have dictated the new schedule layout, Bishop is not a fan. “I’ll be honest with you, I don’t like this scenario. We are having a conference meeting next Friday and I’m pretty sure all the coaches will say ‘we do not like this scenario.’”
Bishop went on to say that he understands how the new format applies to baseball because of pitching rules and limits. But that same rationale doesn’t necessarily apply to softball and its pitching demands.
He added that in some cases, a team is forced to face another tough conference team twice in the same week, which too often doesn’t allow for adequate adjustments.
“We should be able to do it the way we feel it best benefits one of our teams and not worry about baseball,” said Bishop.
Rewriting the record books
Regarding on-diamond accomplishments, senior Kendall Rumans, who signed to play for the Appalachian State Mountaineers next season, continues to re-write the FHS softball record book.
With two games left to play, Rumans currently owns career Panther softball records with 37 home runs, 156 runs batted in (RBIs), 137 runs scored, and 49 doubles. She also holds the single season record for RBIs and most runs scored in a game.
Also pacing the team is sophomore Suzanna Cabe, who has picked up much of Rumans’ former pitching duties and is also excelling at the plate.
While Rumans is first in nine offensive categories, Cabe leads the team with 12 stolen bases , a .970 fielding percentage and a 3.34 earned run average from the mound. She is also second to Rumans in six other categories.
Looking to softball life post-Rumans, Bishop offered a positive outlook going forward.
“One of my first basemen, Meliah Mason, has come around the last few games and hit a couple home runs. Both my freshmen – Alyssa [Awtrey] and Chloe [Lambert] have played well for me; Alyssa’s hit a few home runs herself and Chloe is carrying a really good average.”
In addition to some good pitching talent moving up from Macon Middle School next season, Bishop concluded, “Everybody’s got their little part they do and some have bigger parts, but you have to have all the parts for it to work.”
Baseball Panthers work for winning season
As the 2026 FHS baseball season nears its end, the restructuring from 3A to 5A/6A has brought with it challenges for the varsity baseball program too. Head Coach Jared Greenwood’s squad has struggled to reach .500 and stay above it in the new M8C.
The Panthers were at Sylva in the second of back-to-back games for the “Battle of Cowee Mountain” Friday, April 24. Following their decisive, 12-6 victory last Tuesday in Franklin, FHS again bested the Mustangs, this time by the score of 16-3.
In the first Smoky Mountain game, junior Anderson Terrell was one of the stars, with a grand slam home run in the fourth inning to take a 9-1 lead for Franklin. While Terrell also started for the Panthers on the mound, he departed later for freshman Brayden Greenwood, who finished the game for FHS.
In the second game at Sylva, the Panthers scored five runs in the second inning and never looked back. Sophomore Paxton Sutton had a big game with three hits in as many plate appearances. He also logged three RBI and scored three runs.
With two games left, both against West Henderson, currently second in conference standing, Franklin sits at 11-8 overall but only 5-7 with conference play. Panthers host on Tuesday and travel to West Hendersonville on Thursday. First pitch for both games is 7:00 p.m., and can be heard on WFSC radio.
Greenwood is focusing on the positives, however, as the season draws to a close. “We are wrapping up with two regular season games left. This season has been great. We’ve had some injuries and some younger guys have had to step up.”
Statistically, Terrell leads FHS in numerous offensive categories, including his .368 batting average, 20 runs scored, 15 stolen bases, a .614 slugging percentage, and 11 doubles. Fellow junior Damion Bowles paces the team with 24 hits, 18 RBIs, and a triple. Senior Brock Bradley leads with a .519 on-base percentage and Brayden Greenwood tops the team with three home runs.
Closing out the team leaderboard are sophomores Hunter Lowe and Colton Ledbetter who are both perfect in fielding percentage on the season.
With West Henderson looming Apr. 28 and 30, Greenwood concluded, “We are in great shape and playing some really good baseball as we get closer to the playoffs. These guys work their tails off and are peaking at the right time.”