With sophomore Tanner Bishop on the mound, the New Franklin Bulldogs made quick work of the Slater Wildcats last Tuesday at home with an 11-0 win.

Bishop went five innings without allowing a baserunner, while striking out nine of the 15 batters he faced. Of the 60 pitches he threw, 40 of them were for strikes.

“I’m very happy for Tanner,” said New Franklin head coach Erich Gerding. “A perfect game, he was really locked in.”

The Bulldog offense came alive with 12 hits and 11 runs on the night. “The bottom of our order was locked in as well,” said Gerding.  “They had a whale of a game. It was really nice to take care of business tonight.”

New Franklin put two runs on the board in the bottom of the second, then four more in the third. In the bottom of the fourth, the Bulldogs added five more to put them ahead 11-0. At the end of five, the game ended due to the 10-run rule.

Junior Owen Arnemtrout led the Bulldog attack with a double and two singles to give him three RBI. Jacob Marshall contributed two doubles and an RBI while sophomore Drew Rhorer added a double and two singles and two RBIs. Junior Keaton Eads notched two singles and an RBI.

Bishop, junior Clayton Wilmsmeyer, and senior Zaccary Vollrath-Roth each added singles with Vollrath-Roth’s hit driving in a run.

On Wednesday, the Bulldogs traveled to Pilot Grove and came away with a 3-2 loss in eight innings..

Senior Caleb Hull took the mound and went the distance, striking out 11 and giving up only six hits. Despite the superb outing, Hull took the loss.

New Franklin drew first blood in the top of the first putting two runs on the board. Pilot Grove cut the lead in half in the bottom of the frame. Neither team scored in the next three innings until Pilot Grove was able to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth at 2-2. At the end of regulation, the score remained tied and the two teams went into extra innings. Neither team scored in the eighth and New Franklin came up empty again in the top of the ninth. With no outs in the bottom of the ninth, however, Pilot Grove pushed a run across to end the game.

“Defensively, we made some really good plays,” said Gerding. “Zac Vollrath-Roth made a play in right field that could be the best catch I have seen at the high school level.

“I was really happy with our approach in the first inning,” said Gerding. “After that, we went one-two-three in every inning until the ninth. We only got one hit after the first and struck out 17 times. We’ve just got to get tougher at the plate.”

Tanner Bishop posted two hits for the Bulldogs while Jacob Marshall collected a double. Clayton Wilmsmeyer added the only other New Franklin hit.

The two games moved New Franklin’s season record to 10-5. The Bulldogs traveled to Sturgeon on Tuesday after The Advertiser went to press and will play at Sweet Springs on Thursday.