DAHLONEGA – An opening day shutout began the 2023 season for the University of North Georgia baseball team in its 7-0 victory against Mars Hill (0-2). The Nighthawks used a three-run sixth inning to open up the game, and
Wes Lott (1-0) gave UNG a strong six innings of work, allowing just two hits in his first outing as a Nighthawk.
Three freshmen logged RBIs for North Georgia, with
Andrews Opata (1),
Jace Bowen (1) and
Andrew Shadburn (2) driving in four of the seven runs. Bowen had three hits in four at-bats in his first career collegiate game.
Daniel Courtney came in for relief in the seventh inning, shutting down the MHU bats by allowing just one hit in three innings of work. North Georgia is 4-1 in their last five opening-day games.
Big Innings
- 1st: A sacrifice fly by Riley Frost brought in Opata to open up the scoring. Opata stole second and reached third after a bunt single by Bowen.
- 2nd: An error in right field by Mars Hill allowed Connor Frost to make it a 2-0 game.
- 6th: A Shadburn double followed by singles by Opata and Bowen drove in three runs to give UNG a 5-0 lead.
- 8th: Nik Levensteins singled, scoring Bowen before a wild pitch later in the inning advanced Riley Frost home for the game's final run.
Next Up: The two programs will meet again on Saturday (Feb. 4) for the second game of the three-game series. The first pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
