DAHLONEGA – The University of North Georgia (UNG) baseball team suffered an 11-5 loss at the hands of No. 20 Young Harris (YH) at Bob Stein Stadium at Lynn Cottrell Park on Wednesday.
With the loss, UNG (15-8, 5-1 Peach Belt) had its four-game win streak snapped while the Mountain Lions (16-8, 8-4 Conference Carolinas) snapped a two-game skid.
YH got out to a big early lead and never looked back on Wednesday. After scoring a run in the first, two home runs in the second inning quickly made it 6-0 in favor of the Mountain Lions
The Nighthawks began their comeback effort in the third inning with an RBI single from redshirt junior
Phillip Ard and a sacrifice fly from senior third baseman
Riley Frost.
Each team got one more run in the fourth inning as the score was 7-3 entering the fifth inning.
After YH successfully executed a double steal to make it 8-3, UNG then made its best effort to get back in the game.
With two on and two out, freshman second baseman
Jake Prince roped a ball to the gap in left center field. Both runners scored as Prince rounded second and dug for third base. He was out by inches at the bag but his two-run double pulled UNG to within three runs, its smallest deficit since the first inning.
However, the Nighthawks would not score again as the Mountain Lions added insurance runs in the seventh and eighth innings to hang on for the 11-5 victory.
Now UNG looks forward to a road weekend series within the Peach Belt Conference. The Nighthawks will head to Bluffton, S.C. for a three-game slate against USC Beaufort. First pitch against the Sand Sharks on Friday, March 14 is scheduled for 6 p.m.
