Trib HSSN baseball player of the week – Carson Franc

School – Avonworth

Class – Senior

Position – Pitcher, first baseman

#Earned – Back in March at the start of this 2026 season, Avonworth pitcher and infielder Carson Franc (pronounced France) had a setback on the team’s trip to the Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

After hitting what he thought was a home run but umpires ruled a ground rule double, Franc dove back to second base on a pickoff attempt and injured his shoulder.

Feared to be a big-time setback proved to be just an annoying obstacle to overcome in a super season for the senior.

While the injury sidelined him from the mound until last week, it certainly didn’t hurt his bat.

Franc leads the Antelopes in hitting with a .537 batting average with team highs in hits with 36, in doubles with 14 and runs batted in with 26.

He has a .587 on-base percentage, a .746 slugging percentage and a 1.333 OPS.

Avonworth entered this week with a perfect 8-0 record in Section 2-3A and a 12-5 overall record with all of the losses coming against out of state or higher classification opponents.

The section crown was at stake as the Antelopes squared off against rival South Park earlier this week.

In this decade, the two programs have finished first and second in their section four of the five years.

Avonworth was the section champ with South Park as runner-up in 2021, 2023 and 2025, while the Eagles were first and the Antelopes second in 2022.

In the opener Monday, Avonworth fell behind 5-1 after four innings.

The ‘Lopes rallied with two in the fifth inning, two in the seventh to tie the game and then won it 7-5 on a walk-off two-run homer by Cooper Scharding in the eighth inning.

Franc was 3 for 4 with a double and two runs driven in. He also pitched the top of the eighth to pick up the win.

The next night at South Park, Franc picked up where he left off.

He got the start and threw a complete game, allowing one unearned run on three hits with a walk and 11 strikeouts.

At the plate, Franc was 2 for 4 with a three-run double as the Antelopes swept the Eagles to win the section crown outright, 7-1.

Franc plans to continue his academic and baseball career at Washington & Jefferson.

2026 Trib HSSN Baseball Players of the Week

Week 4 – Nico D’Orazio, Upper St. Clair

Week 3 – Cody Bungert, South Fayette

Week 2 – James ‘Booboo’ Armstrong, Hopewell

Week 1 – Logan Plummer, Pine-Richland