FRANKLIN — It was easily the most memorable game of the season for the Franklin High School baseball team, a season-saving comeback that booked its second title game appearance in three years.

Franklin's memories of Campbell, its opponent this afternoon in the Class M final, aren't so fond.

The last time No. 1 Franklin and No. 2 Campbell met was in last year's quarterfinals in Concord. The game was tied at 2 from the second inning on until Franklin pulled ahead by a run in the top of the eighth. But Nick Gosselin's go-ahead RBI single was erased in the bottom half, when Campbell rallied for a pair of walks with the bases loaded to steal a 4-3 win and move onto the Final Four.

The two teams will meet for the first time since at 1 p.m. today at the New Hampshire Fisher Cats' Merchantsauto.com Stadium in Manchester. It will be the third straight tournament matchup between the two. Back in 2007, the Tornadoes turned back Campbell 12-6 in the semifinal round.

"(Last year) it didn't end the way we wanted it to," Franklin coach Tom Charbono said. "It's more that it's the championship. We have nine seniors. Our mindset right now is that it's the championship game, not that we are playing Campbell again.

"We have nine seniors who want to go out with a championship," added Charbono.

It's no mystery how Campbell and Franklin found their way to the final this season. Both teams featured a pair of No. 1 quality pitchers, which have carried them to identical 18-1 records.

The only difference for today is who will be available.

Franklin has both John Pickowicz and Class M Player of the Year Derrick Sylvester eligible to throw five-plus innings. They combined for a two-hitter in their nine-inning semifinal thriller over Berlin.

The Cougars have Cullan Baker, who got the win in their 11-1 win over Somersworth in the quarterfinals last weekend, but senior ace John Coughlin pitched his last high school inning on Wednesday. He went all seven in a 5-0 shutout over Winnisquam, and per state rules, a player must have at least three days rest after pitching more than five innings.

Franklin's Austyn Turners crosses home plate with a run against Berlin in the Class M semifinals. Greeting him is teammate Brian Morrill. (Alan MacRae/for the Citizen)

"He won't pitch (today) because he's not eligible," Campbell coach Jim Gorham said. "He went 15-1 in three years, and the only game he lost was to Prospect Mountain in the bottom of the seventh. He's the real deal."

"The Baker kid who I expect to see pitched one innings against us last year. He has more experience this year... He is good," said Charbono. "Like always we have to have good at bats. We struck out 10 times (against Berlin in the semifinals) and we had three in the preliminary and quarterfinals. We need to keep those numbers down."

Franklin is set up well. Pickowicz threw five innings (99 pitches) Wednesday night and Sylvester tossed the final four (59 pitches) to pick up the win in relief. Both have innings to burn. Sylvester is eligible to throw a full seven. Pickowicz has six innings left. A player can throw a maximum of 16 innings in the tournament.

"Both are ready to go," Charbono said.

The Franklin pitching staff figures to get its toughest test of the season against a Campbell group that has scored 27 runs so far in the playoffs. The Cougars didn't waist any time against Winnisquam Wednesday, quickly plating three runs in the first and cruising from there.

"We've been pretty good at that," Gorham said of fast starts. "I heard one coach say (about us) 'You can beat them if you shut down a couple kids,' but now the middle and the bottom of the order are starting to put the bat on the ball, too."

Gabe Williams hits for a high average at the top of Campbell's lineup. He's got speed and applies pressure on the base paths. Baker, Coughlin and catcher Tyler Bonin are the Cougars' core hitters, but Campbell has gotten production throughout during their current 13-game winning streak. Junior Bobby Frappier rocked a two-run double that put Winnisquam in a quick first-inning hole Wednesday night. No. 7 hitter Josh Sigman, another junior, had a key RBI single in the sixth off Bears' ace Jordan Cote.

"They are a good fastball hitting team," Charbono pointed out. "You have to get ahead (in the count), so you can dictate what you want to throw. Both Sly and Pick are tough when they can throw their breaking ball for strikes.

"They (Cougars) are scrappy. They do the right things... They are well coached," added Charbono. "They are 18-1 for a reason. We'll need good pitching, good defense, and good hitting to pull it out."

Franklin's lineup starts with speed in Austyn Turner at the lead-off spot. Morrill is a dangerous contact hitter in the No. 2 hole. Sylvester, catcher Nate Kaplan and Pickowicz all hit for power in the middle. The Tornadoes have reliability toward the bottom of their lineup, too. Abe Muniz is consistent in the No. 7 spot and Gosselin, the No. 9 hitter, has a knack for the clutch hit. Franklin faced a two-run hole with the bottom third of its order due up Wednesday night, and the job still got done, due in part to a key line-drive single by Gosselin that put a pair aboard and got the top of the lineup to the plate.