Miranda Pederson/Daily News Bowling Green East and Franklin-Simpson shakes hands after their 11-12 semifinal game Wednesday at Franklin’s Jim Roberts Community Park.

FRANKLIN — The Franklin-Simpson 11- and 12-year-olds weren’t as pristine Wednesday night as they were in their previous four games, but they survived and advanced.

Franklin exploded for seven runs in the sixth inning of the Little League District 1 Tournament semifinals, beating Bowling Green East 9-6 at Jim Roberts Community Park.

F-S gave up four total runs in its four pool play games before Wednesday’s semifinal.

“We basically didn’t come focused,” Franklin manager Dane Heinze said. “We came here worried about the next game and not this game, and we just didn’t play up to our standards.”

Franklin moves on to play Warren County South, which beat Logan County 11-6 on Wednesday, at 8 p.m. today for the district championship and a spot in the state tournament.

That game, along with the semifinals for the lower age groups, was originally scheduled for Thursday but delayed by rain.

F-S had a 2-0 lead through four innings Wednesday, including a solo home run by Matthew Crittenden, but BG East tied it in the fifth with a two-run double by Jacob Lacey.

Franklin responded with a seven-run top of the sixth, which Aaron Hammer capped with a two-run blast.

“It was nerve-wracking,” said Hammer, who also started on the mound. “We had a lot of energy coming into that inning, and we got fired up.”

BG East cut into the deficit in the bottom of the sixth with two-run homers by Jackson Fletcher and Nash Hightower, but couldn’t get over the hump.

Jacob Curtis earned the win in relief for Franklin. Other offensive highlights included two hits by Cole Heinze and a two-run single by Kyler Pritchett.

“Most of these kids have played together for four years daily, so they’re used to trying to battle out of situations,” Dane Heinze said. “We’d like to come out like the other four games and dominate from the get-go, but our kids battled through and got the win. But we better come more prepared next time.”

FS     0 0 1     1 0 7 – 9 9 1

BGE     0 0 0     0 2 4 – 6 7 0

WP: Curtis LP: Rutledge

Warren County South 11, Logan County 6

WC South scored 11 unanswered runs after falling in an early 6-0 hole to reach the championship game.

After Logan County extended its lead to 6-0 in the fourth, Warren County South added three in the fifth and exploded for eight runs in the sixth.

“I’m glad they’re resilient, because you get to that point and you’re thinking about the negative things,” WC South manager Craig Martin said. “But we have kids that come back and don’t stop. Just unbelievable resiliency.”

The big hit was a grand slam in the sixth by Steven Gaiko, who also struck out six batters in a relief appearance for the win.

A.J. Isable went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Jaron Burr had two hits. Isable started the game and struck out eight batters in three innings.

Logan County’s Nick Wooden pitched five innings and allowed four runs with 10 strikeouts. He also hit a grand slam in the fourth inning – the team’s only hit of the game – that gave LC a 6-0 lead.

WCS     0 0 0     0 3 8 – 11 9 2

LC     0 0 0     6 0 0 – 6 1 1

WP: Gaiko LP: Baldwin

10- and 11-YEAR-OLDS

Bowling Green East routed Franklin-Simpson 17-0 in four innings in the nightcap of Wednesday’s 10-11s pool play action. Owensboro Southern beat East Daviess 16-4 in five innings.

Owensboro Southern will be the No. 1 seed in today’s semifinals and will face Warren County South at 6 p.m. Warren County North will play Muhlenberg County in the 2-3 game at 8 p.m.

9- and 10-YEAR-OLDS

Logan County knocked off Bowling Green West 21-7 in five innings in pool play, while Owensboro Southern defeated Warren County North 7-5.

Southern will be the No. 1 seed and face Warren County South at 6 p.m. today. Bowling Green East and Logan County meet in the 2-3 game at 8 p.m.