CARROLLTON, Ga. – The No. 23 University of North Georgia baseball team won its sixth consecutive game with a 6-2 victory at West Georgia Wednesday evening. The win streak ties the most consecutive wins in the season thus far for head coach Tom Cantrell's team. It also moves the Nighthawks to 16-4 on the year, marking their best 20-game start since 2017 when UNG also started 16-4.
In that 2017 season, the Nighthawks made it to the NCAA Tournament and won the Southeast Regional to advance to the NCAA Championships in Grand Prairie, Texas.
Wednesday's win was thanks in part to another stellar pitching performance from the UNG arms.
Limiting the Wolves to just seven hits and two scattered runs, the Nighthawk pitching staff has now held opponents to two runs or less in five straight games. They've accomplished that feat eight times overall this year.
Freshman right-hander Andrew Cedano made his first career start on the mound for UNG.
He was brilliant in four innings, allowing no runs on just one hit while striking out three UWG batters. The appearance was only Cedano's fourth of the season and his first since Feb. 18. It's the first time he's pitched this year without allowing a run.
On the offensive side, redshirt sophomore first baseman Phillip Ard got things started with a bang in the first inning.
With two on and one out, Ard smashed his third home run of the year over the right field wall. The trio of runs batted in gave Ard a total of 20 RBIs on the season, ranking third on the team so far.
The Nighthawks added another run in the fifth on a bases-loaded groundout from sophomore infielder Luke Starling.
Starling's been on a hot streak of late for UNG. He's recorded a hit, an RBI and a walk in six straight games. Eight of his 14 total RBIs this year have come in that span. He's batting .579 in that stretch with a .692 on base percentage.
Starling isn't the only Nighthawk hitter who's been on a roll. Currently, including Starling, there are four UNG batters who have an active hit streak of five or more games. That figure does not take into account sophomore outfielder Andrews Opata who just had a seven-game multi-hit streak snapped on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the Wolves made things moderately interesting with a pair of sacrifice flies in the fifth and sixth innings to make it 4-2.
But in the seventh, it was Starling striking iron again to extend the Nighthawk lead. The Dacula, Ga. native roped a ball down the right field line to score Ard and make it 5-2. Two at bats later, Starling was brought home as sophomore infielder Brady Skipper cracked the third double of the inning, this time to right center, to push the lead to four runs.
UWG had a prime opportunity to get back in the ball game with the bases loaded and only one out in the bottom of the seventh. Before it got its chance, Cantrell made a pitching change to bring in sophomore lefty Jack Emacio. The 25-year head coach picked a tough spot for the second year players to make his first appearance of the season. However, Emacio was unfazed.
He quickly got a strikeout and a fly out to end the threat and leave the bases loaded with nothing but a zero on the seventh inning scoreboard.
In the eighth, Emacio recorded his second strikeout before his defense came up big to remove a base runner.
After singling, Wolves junior outfielder Mason Cooper tried to go from first to third on a bloop single from his teammate. Instead, Cooper was easily cut down at the bag by junior right fielder Josh Sosa.
In the ninth, senior right-handed pitcher Jacob Lassiat entered for the Nighthawks. He breezed through a 1-2-3 inning, recording his eighth strikeout along the way, the second most of any UNG reliever this year.
Now the Nighthawks trek back to Dahlonega where they'll face USC Beaufort in their third Peach Belt series of the season. The three-game, three-day set begins Friday, Mar. 15 as the Sandsharks visit Bob Stein Stadium at Lynn Cottrell Park. First pitch in game one is scheduled for 6 p.m.
