>> GEORGIA COLLEGE
The Georgia College & State University (GCSU) baseball team (13-4, 10-5 PBC) lost its series 2-1 March 24-26, at Georgia Southwestern State University (GSSU, 16-10, 12-6 PBC).
Game one of the series went to the Hurricanes, who got out to a 6-0 lead by the end of the fourth inning.
Ben Tuten finally put the Bobcats on the board in the sixth with a two-run homer that also drove Matthew Chester across the plate. Later in the inning, Palmer Sapp added an RBI single that drove Mason Spivey home to cut the deficit to half for GCSU.
Spivey scored again in the eighth, off a triple hit by Baylin Moore, to bring the score to 6-4 with one inning left. After the ‘Canes failed to pad their lead in the top of the ninth, Chester hit a two-out single to start the Bobcats’ rally. Then came a walk and consecutive wild pitches, with Chester scoring on the second, but the Bobcats fell short in a 6-5 final.
GCSU starter Josh Hudgins picked up the loss, falling to 3-2 this season. He went five innings, giving up his first earned runs of the season while striking out five.
Game two on Saturday again saw Georgia Southwestern get out to an early lead at 3-0 after three innings of what turned into a pitching duel.
The Bobcats' Luc Scudellari got the start, going five innings. Scudellari (3-2) allowed only one earned run on four hits with nine strikeouts. Lex Kenny threw three scoreless innings for the Bobcats, giving up just two hits with a pair of strikeouts.
The Bobcats lone run came in the sixth on a sacrifice fly from Sapp that allowed Chester to score.
The Bobcats made things interesting in the top of the ninth inning. After a pair of strikeouts, Moore reached on a walk. He then took third on a single from Trey Ham, but one final out later, the rally halted there for a 3-1 final.
On Sunday, the Bobcats jumped up early, scoring four runs in the first inning and three in the second. Spivey got things started with an RBI double in the first that scored Evan Cowan. Spivey also contributed a run in the opening inning, followed by Tuten and Sapp.
In the second inning, Brandon Bellflower provided a two-run homer that also pushed Spivey across the plate. Jaxon Weatherford also contributed a run to boost GCSU to a 7-0 lead.
GCSU led 9-0 after putting up single runs by Domenic Arienzo and Hunter Baker in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively, before the Hurricanes finally got on the board with two in the seventh. Baker added a home run in the eighth, giving the Bobcats a 10-6 advantage into the top of the ninth.
There, GCSU plated four more runs from Spivey, Tuten, Weatherford and Baker to take a huge 14-6 advantage, but GSW wouldn't go down without a fight. The Hurricanes plated three runs in the bottom of the inning, but the rally was halted by GCSU's relief corps.
Baker finished the game 3-for-3 at the plate, including a home run, three scores and three RBIs. He also had a double and three walks in his best game in a GCSU uniform. Cowan also had three hits in five at-bats with an RBI and a run. Add in Bellflower's home run and GCSU's outfield went a combined 7-for-14 with five runs scored and seven runs batted in, adding two home runs, a double and three walks. Bellflower's home run was his fourth this season and the 16th of his Bobcat career.
Trevor Knowles had two hits and three RBIs. Weatherford also added two singles with two runs and an RBI. Spivey finished 2-for-5 with three runs and the RBI single in the first, and Tuten had a 2-for-5 game with two runs and an RBI. Eight of the nine spots in the lineup had a hit today for the Bobcats, and all nine either scored or drove in a run.
Trey Felt went 6 2/3 innings without an earned run, scattering six hits and a walk while striking out three. Felt improved to 2-0 with the victory in his second start as a Bobcat.