Tuesday night was the culmination of months of hard work for Franklin Township's 13-15 year-old Babe Ruth team.

The reward was a chance to go to the state tournament for the second consecutive year, and the squad didn't disappoint. Behind a dominant pitching performance, an opportunistic offense and a flawless defense, Franklin Township dispatched Wayne County 3-1 in the District 4 13-15 year-old Babe Ruth Tournament championship game."This is huge. It's big for the kids," said Franklin coach Glenn Hibbler. "This was their goal way back in March when we started Babe Ruth. This is what they've been thinking about."These kids wanted this one right here. We weren't too successful at states last year so we were looking to go out there and rebound."Franklin will get the opportunity to do so on the heels of one of its most well rounded performances of the season.Even though the game was held at Christman Field, Franklin played as the visitors.Franklin made the most of the opportunity to bat early, scoring all three of its runs in the top half of the first inning."It was crucial," Hibbler said of the quick start. "Being the away team, we knew we had to score some runs early. I wish we could have scored more, but with a three run lead and the defense that we have, it's a very comfortable situation."With three runs, we were able to play relaxed and loose…we had an error-free game and that's what we strive to do. That is how and that's why you win big games like this."Frank Bokan reached on an error to start the first inning rally and moved to third after a Justin Marykwas single.Collin Haupt followed and drove the ball to center field, just past the reach of Wayne County's Tim Murphy to score Bokan and give Franklin a 1-0 lead.Haupt's drive moved Marykwas to third, and Franklin's starting pitcher was able to score on Dave Marino's groundout to give Franklin a 2-0 advantage.With Haupt standing at third, Zach Crum, who finished 2-for-3, stepped to the plate and lined the ball to right field, scoring Haupt.Marykwas was able to make the early lead hold up with a solid performance on the mound, finishing with six strikeouts while allowing only three hits and as many walks."My curveball was working really well tonight," said Marykwas. "I was able to locate that low and away and get them swinging at it. Then I could come back with a fastball high and away."Marykwas didn't allow a hit until a two-out, two-strike single by Adam Sands in the bottom of the third inning.Wayne County was able to capitalize, as Murphy followed and moved Sands to second with a well-placed bunt. Sands got to third on Tyler Clift's groundout and was able to score on a wild pitch.Perhaps Wayne County's best chance to make a comeback came in the seventh, when Kyle Shema laced one-out double to center field, then moved to third on a passed ball. Andrew Larson followed and drew a walk. But much like it had done throughout the game, Franklin's defense stepped up.Looking for his third hit of the game, Sands hit a sharp grounder to second base, where it was snagged by Franklin's Luis Valdez, who tagged Larson and threw to first to get Sands and end the game."I can't say we didn't hit the ball, because we did," said Wayne County coach Frank O'Neill. "We just hit it right at them."After a somewhat disappointing performance in the state tournament a year ago, Franklin is looking for a reversal of fortune this time around."We're hoping to go make some noise there," Hibbler said. "We didn't have the best go at it last year, and we want to make this community proud this year."We are striving to go out there and be one of the top teams."Franklin Twp. 300 000 0 - 3 6 0Wayne County 001 000 0 - 1 3 3Marykwas and Whiteman; Shema and Larson. W - Marykwas. L - Shema.