Defense is often overlooked in baseball.

While hitting gets most of the attention, and pitching is always a focus, the play in the field many times takes a back seat.

On Friday night, though, Franklin Township flashed some leather against Jim Thorpe during an 11-4 Lehigh Valley Junior Connie Mack contest.

“We were solid on defense,” said Franklin manager Ben Moyer. “Making the routine plays is what we do very well, and we don’t hurt ourselves in the field at all.”

While the winners did make a couple of miscues — which weren’t costly — they got to line drives quickly and knew where to go with the ball when it was hit to them. They executed forces at second and actually ended the game when center fielder Aiden McCarroll caught a liner and doubled off Thorpe’s runner at second.

“Their starting pitcher hit his spots, and they’re a really good defensive team,” said Olympian skipper Mark Domski. “When we did hit the ball, they made plays on us. And that’s what good teams do.”

Good teams also find ways to score — even if their bats aren’t producing.

Franklin collected just one hit over the first two innings, but tallied six times to take a sizable lead.

McCarroll accounted for the game’s first run when he walked, stole second and third, and scored on a wild pitch.

In the second, Carter Spotts got things rolling with a single. Two walks, a hit batter and three errors eventually led to five more runs and a 6-0 advantage.

“The second inning was tough but the kids battled,” said Domski. “They put the effort in. Franklin is a good hitting team, and we just had to make plays. If we make plays, we keep ourselves in the game.”

Some of the errors were due to Franklin’s aggressiveness on the bases, an aspect of the game the winning club enjoys using against its opponents.

“We like to take advantage of opportunities when we have it, especially on the bases,” said Moyer. “We want to make team get us out. That’s the name of the game.”

Pitching is also a big part of the game and FT’s Alex Kish did a masterful job during his stint, which lasted 4 2/3 innings.

The left-hander allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out three. He pitched to contact, allowing his fielders to get the job done.

“Alex is not going to overpower people, but he throws strikes and that’s (key) at this level,” said Moyer. “He throws a lot of strikes, his ball moves a decent amount so he gets a lot of soft contact. He did well tonight.”

Franklin’s hitters did well late in the contest. After Jim Thorpe scored three times in the sixth on wild pitches, the home team responded with four in the bottom of the frame. Brock Atwood delivered a ringing two-run double, while Spotts connected for a hard RBI single.

“It took a while, but we started hitting some baseballs hard,” said Moyer. “We had back-to-back hard line drives to the outfield there, so we finally started putting the ball in play and got a nice big number there in the bottom of the sixth.”

Despite the loss, Domski has faith in his team going forward — and doesn’t mind giving credit where credit is due.

“We’re getting better as the season progresses, and I’m confident that the boys will turn it around and make a playoff run,” he said. “That’s the hope. But hats off to Franklin. They did a good job.”

Moyer also feels his team is progressing, and can still improve in the future.

“We’ve been up and down, but mostly up,” said Moyer. “There are still things to work on, which is good to be 9-2 and still have things to work on. I don’t think we’ve played our best baseball yet. It’s kind of a cliche, but I don’t think we have. We’re a work in progress and we are getting better as the season goes on.”

RELIEF HELP ... Thorpe’s Dominic Calcano did an admirable job in relief. The righty tossed 4 2/3 innings and threw 99 pitches. He gave up just two runs in the first four frames before tiring in his last inning. “Dominic helped us out,” said Domski. “With the amount of games that we have to play in a quick time span, just like Franklin, we had to be cognizant of arms. So pitch counts are a big thing we have to focus on, so I had to keep my starter at 35 (pitches) because I need him for Sunday.

FRANKLIN OFFENSE ... Spotts had two hits and two runs, while every player in the FT lineup reached base and all but one scored a run.

Jim Thorpe 000 003 1 - 4 2 4

Franklijn Twp. 150 014 x - 11 6 2

Schrantz, Calcano (2), Skrimcovsky (6) and Levan; Kish, Utrata (5) and Atwood, Moyer (4). W - Kish. L - Schrantz.

Records: Jim Thorpe (3-5-2); Franklin Township (9-2).