DAHLONEGA - The University of North Georgia baseball team put up 47 runs over its Saturday doubleheader, sweeping Claflin to wrap up the regular season.
GAME 1 - UNG 27, CU 0 (7 inn.)
North Georgia sent 15 batters to the plate in the bottom of the first, plating 11 runs highlighted by a pair of homers from
Crews Taylor and a three-run blast from
Josh Sosa. The Nighthawks kept it going in the second inning with a three run homer from
Tim Conway and a two RBI double from
Will Hardigree to take a 16-0 lead through two complete.
UNG scored three more in the third on a
Riley Frost double before adding on a pair in the fourth off a Taylor sacrifice fly and a bases loaded hit by pitch to push the lead to 21-0.
Cade Heil started the scoring in the fifth with a double down the line in right before a wild pitch and a third homer from Taylor in the game gave North Georgia a 25-0 lead.
Riley Frost finished the inning with a single, scoring another run before Conway brought home the final run of the game in the sixth on a double.
Pierce Williams (5-3) threw a complete game shutout, fanning nine along the way.
GAME 2 - UNG 20, CU 4 (7 inn.)
The Nighthawks kept their foot on the gas, plating five in the first on a
Riley Frost triple, a
Josh Sosa single and a Hardigree three run homer.
Jorge Arispuro added to the lead in the second with a two RBI double before a RBI groundout made it an 8-0 game.
The Panthers finally found the scoreboard in the third, plating a pair off a double, but UNG responded immediately, adding three in the third on a Conway double, a
Riley Frost sacrifice fly and a Sosa double to push the lead to 11-2. North Georgia added five more in the fourth, highlighted by another Taylor homer, and four in the fifth, capped by a
Tyler Courtney RBI double that scored two, to take a 20-2 lead. Claflin added two in the sixth, but that was all they could muster.
Jay Pendley (5-2) got the win, going five innings and fanning five.
NOTES
- With his four homers on the day, Taylor breaks
Andres Perez's career record for homers, now sitting at 57 for his career. He also became the third player to homer three times in a game in North Georgia history, joining Perez and Matt Terry. His seven RBI in game one ties him for third all-time with six other former players.
- North Georgia's 27 runs in the first game of the twinbill is tied for the most runs in a single game in program history, tying with a 2017 matchup with Emmanuel. It bests the most for a North Georgia team in a Peach Belt game by two runs.
- Prior to the game, UNG honored its eight seniors in the class of 2022:
Jake Arnold, Courtney, Hardigree, Heil,
Beau Jones,
Caleb Mitchell, Pendley and Taylor.
NEXT UP
North Georgia will wait on the Peach Belt Conference Tournament bracket to be released after tomorrow's games finish.
