UPDATED: The Franklin High School baseball team crushed Concord’s Jay M. Robinson 13-5 Tuesday to advance in the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Panther softball team enjoyed a bye.
Both teams will play in the second round of the playoffs Friday, May 8, at home in Franklin.
The Panthers will travel to East Lincoln High School in outside of Charlotte, while the Lady Panthers face West Asheville’s Clyde A. Erwin High School. (It was previously reported that the baseball team was playing at home on Friday)
First pitch for the girls is expected to be at 6 p.m. The baseball first pitch is at 7 p.m.
Closing out the regular season
The end of April brought to a close the 2026 Franklin High School baseball and softball seasons. While the Lady Panthers softball team excelled, finishing third in the Mountain Eight (M8) Conference at 8-4 and 17-7 within 4A/5A class play, the baseball Panthers struggled to finish above .500 in the M8.
Baseball Head Coach Jared Greenwood’s players finished 11-10 in 5A/6A but only managed a 5-9 record in the M8C, having gotten swept by West Henderson to close out the regular season. The Falcons won at Franklin 13-11 April 28 then won another close one in Hendersonville, 9-7 April 30.
Greenwood said, “It’s not all about wins. We played a really hard schedule and our RPI (ratings percentage index) is really high.”
The RPI a mathematical formula used to rank teams and determine playoff seeding by combining a team’s winning percentage with the strength of their schedule.
Playoff win against Robinson
Baseball’s toughness showed in Tuesday’s game when hitting and pitching stepped up to the challenge.
Anderson Terrell (pictured top) had a career high with seven strike outs in seven innings. He only gave up one earned run off ten hits, and only one walk. From the batter’s box, he got on base in all five of his plate appearances with two runs, two RBIs, and one double.
Addix Sutton went 2-for-3 at the plate. He drove in three RBIs and stole a base.
This gives the boys a current 12-10 overall record. Meanwhile, Robinson was on a 10-game losing streak to finish 6-19.
Accolades for Rumans continue to role in
Softball’s record breaker, Kendall Rumans, is being recognized as a regional honoree for the prestigious 2026 Ann Brandis Division I Female Athlete in a Major Sport of the Year Award
The award would be deserved considering her long list of records. On April 21, she broke the WNC record for most career RBIs, surpassing Murphy’s Brittany Henry (155).
Today, she practically owns Franklins softball records:
- Career Home Run Record
- Career RBI Record
- Season RBI Record
- Career Runs Record
- Runs in a Single Game Record
- Career Doubles Record
Friday could be fans’ last chance to see this Franklin phenom play at home in a Panther uniform.
Baseball photos by Ronnie Vanhook.
