Franklin tops Phillipsburg, 8-1, to earn series split on complete game effort from Sosa

When your team spots you a 7-0 lead In the first two innings of a baseball game, it should be a cruise of the rest of the way for the starting pitcher.

And it was mostly that for Defraily Sosa of Franklin, who allowed just one run the rest of the way and scattered five hits in a complete game, 8-1 win over visiting Phillipsburg that gave the Warriors a split in their Skyland Conference division series. 

Franklin (4-5) got four runs in the first and three more in the second before adding another in the fourth for insurance that it turned out they wouldn’t nearly need.

After a 1-2-3 first by Sosa, in the bottom of the inning, Franklin got a bunt single from Izaiah Robinson and a single by Mike Sciermeyer, then a two-RBI single by Stanley Madera to make it 2-0. Jacob Gordon walked and after a popup by Rodrick Ray, Shayne Rooney drove in two more with a single to make it 4-0.

In the second, Shaylen Patel hit a one-out single, while Robinson followed with another. Schiermeyer then singled past shortstop into left field, and when the ball was misplayed, two more runs came in. Madera and Jacob Gordon followed with walks, and one more to Ray made it 7-0. That was all for Phillipsburg (5-5) starter Evan Carter, and reliever Wyatt Gordon induced a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.

Franklin got another run in the fourth when Ray singled with one out to bring in Madera, who’d led off the inning with a single of his own.

The Stateliners got one back in the fifth, when Gordon got hit by a pitch. Felix Matos walked, and a groundout to first moved the runners up, with another by Mike Bracco plating the run to make it 8-1.

Phillipsburg’s biggest threat came in the fourth, when a sac fly by Jett Genovese to right with runners at first and second put runners at the corners and Amman Bokhari walked to load the bases with two out. But Sosa got Chase Doering to fly out to center to end the inning.

Sosa picked up his first win of the season to improve to 1-2, while Carter fell to 2-2 with the loss.

Click below to hear postgame reaction with Franklin head coach Derrick Castillo, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen: