By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur
RESERVE – East St. John bounced back from a loss to Northshore to begin the week, besting visiting Springfield 15-3 at East St. John Thursday.
ESJ’s Daniel Franklin had a banner day, hitting for the cycle with a single, double, triple and a home run. He went 4 for 4 and collected four RBIs.
Franklin also captured the victory on the mound, going five innings and allowing just two hits. He struck out nine.
The Wildcats finished the game in five innings by the 10-run rule, highlighting its effort with an eight run third inning.
ESJ (9-9) batted around in each of the first and third innings.
Springfield fell to 12-8 with the loss.
“Guys came out real aggressive,” said East St. John coach Shan Williams. “We put up four runs right off the bat. We had the meat of our lineup up in the first and third, and those guys have been hitting the ball really well over the past few games.”
Ahmani Martin and Darnell Lee each went 3 for 4, with Martin collecting two RBIs and Lee adding one.
Williams also praised the recent play of leadoff batter Phil Adams, who he said has set the tone of late by his patience and ability to read and communicate what opposing pitchers are doing.
“He’s making them throw a lot of pitches, giving everyone a chance to see the pitcher’s speed and the different types of pitches he has at his disposal,” said Williams. “Then he’s doing a real good job of communicating what he’s seeing to his teammates.”
Franklin, meanwhile, tacked on another strong pitching performance.
“It’s always a good day for us when he throws like that,” said Williams. “He struggled a little bit early with a tight strike zone. But once he adjusted to it, he was able to get things going. He put together a nice start for us.”
The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for the Wildcats, who fell 15-6 at Northshore (11-10) on Monday.
“Northshore hit the ball really well, and we didn’t hit it as well as we have been,” said Williams. “Their hits were timely, which was the biggest thing.”
The Wildcats now turn their attention to District 8-5A play, which begins Tuesday. John Ehret is slated to visit East St. John in a game set for 4 p.m.
ESJ will face  Patriots team in desperate need of a win. After an 8-2 start, Ehret has lost 10 straight games entering district play.