DAHLONEGA – The University of North Georgia baseball team grabbed a win in its final non-conference game of the season with a 12-10 victory over West Georgia at Bob Stein Stadium at Lynn Cottrell Park Tuesday evening.
The Nighthawks will head into the final weekend of the regular season with a 31-15 overall record and a 16-8 mark in conference play.
Tuesday's high scoring affair with the Wolves saw a combined 13 pitchers give up 22 runs in a marathon win for UNG.
UWG got the scoring started very early as lead off man Patrick McCullough homered in the game's first at bat.
The Nighthawks wouldn't get on the board until the third, but quickly took the lead when they did.
After a sacrifice fly from sophomore second baseman Brady Skipper moved all runners and scored sophomore center fielder Andrews Opata, back-to-back singles brought in two more runs to give UNG a lead it would not relinquish.
Junior shortstop Riley Frost had the first single, plating freshman outfielder Noah Darden. Then Sophomore outfielder Edwin Bowman IV got an RBI as his base hit to right field brought home redshirt sophomore first baseman Phillip Ard.
A three run third inning gave way to the fourth in which the Nighthawks doubled their offensive output.
Once Opata singled with one out, Darden connected on his second home run of the season, a two-run shot to the opposite field to make it 5-1.
Ard struck out in the next at bat, leaving two outs in the inning. That didn't slow down the UNG hitters as Skipper kept the at bat alive with a double to right center. Frost then walked before Bowman tallied his second RBI of the night on another single.
With runners at first and second, freshman third baseman Kyle Robitzsch reached on an error to load the bases. That brought up reigning Peach Belt Conference Baseball Player of the Week in junior outfielder Josh Sosa who worked a walk to score another run.
A single from junior catcher Bryson Stripling brought around two more runners as the Nighthawks had successfully recorded a five-hit, six-run inning to lead 9-1.
The Wolves kept things interesting as the game progressed. A grand slam in the fifth from first baseman Jared Emory made it 9-6. Then in the sixth, UWG had the bases loaded with nobody out and posted consecutive sacrifice flies to pull within a single run at 9-8.
It didn't matter as UNG deposited a trio of runs to the board in the home half of the seventh.
After Nighthawk redshirt junior reliever Zach Green successfully worked a one-two-three top of the seventh, his teammates picked him up with run support in the bottom of the frame.
Opata led the frame off with a double, his third hit of the night. Darden, who had a pair of hits himself, then singled to put runners on the corners before Ard sent Opata trotting home on a single.
A few batters later, with the bases loaded, Bowman brought in his game-high third RBI of the night as he was hit by a pitch.
With a four run lead, Green continued his strong outing into the ninth inning. He allowed a base hit to the lead off man McCullough before striking out left fielder Cooper Prince. Head coach Tom Cantrell came out to remove the lefty as Green had successfully done his job.
After entering the game in the sixth, Green pitched 3.1 innings allowing just one hit and one run. He did not walk a batter and struck out three before exiting the game.
Sophomore right-handed reliever Jaret Bales was brought in to finish the deal. Bales had some trouble before closing the door, allowing a pair of runs to come across before ending the game on a ground out from catcher Mason Cooper ended the game with the tying run on base for the Wolves.
With the win, UNG gets ready for its biggest series of the season. The Nighthawks have a home date with Georgia College in a series that may determine who earns second place and the right to host a quarterfinal pod in the PBC Tournament.
The three day slate begins Friday, Apr. 26 with a 6 p.m. first pitch from Bob Stein Stadium at Lynn Cottrell Park.
