PENSACOLA, Fla. – The University of North Georgia (UNG) baseball team dominated West Florida (UWF) on Wednesday afternoon for a 19-6 road victory to split the two-game series.
The Nighthawks (12-7, 2-1 Peach Belt) scored 15 of their season-high 19 runs between the fifth and seventh innings against the Argonauts (10-8, 6-3 Gulf South). The game was called in the eighth inning due to the mercy rule, marking UNG's second victory via mercy rule this year.
UWF actually took an early 1-0 lead in the first on Wednesday, but it was quickly countered by UNG in the third inning.
Junior center fielder
Andrews Opata and redshirt freshman
Nicholas Stinson each recorded RBI singles to take a 2-1 lead for the Nighthawks. Sophomore left fielder
Kyle Robitzsch then added to the lead with a two-out, two-run single to left to score Stinson and redshirt junior first baseman
Phillip Ard.
In the fifth inning was when UNG kicked things into fifth gear. With two on and one out, senior right fielder
Jorge Arispuro swatted a single into left field to bring in Robitzsch and Stinson. Then senior third baseman
Riley Frost belted his first homer of the year over the left field wall, a two-run shot to make it 8-1. With Frost's bomb, 10 different Nighthawks have now connected on at least one homer this season.
The Argonauts kept things interesting with a three-run homer of their own in the bottom of the inning, but that did not stop UNG from piling on the runs as the game continued.
Ard added a lone run in the sixth with a deep solo shot to left field for his sixth round tripper of the season. He's now tied for the most home runs among Peach Belt Conference hitters this season.
Two more runs from UWF in the bottom of the inning made it 9-6 to keep things interesting. However, a 10-run, seventh-inning explosion from the Nighthawks abruptly put the game on ice.
It started as UNG loaded the bases behind some defensive miscues for the Argonauts. Junior shortstop
Jace Bowen then earned an RBI the hard way as he was hit by a pitch to bring a run in.
Still with nobody out, Ard then reached on an infield single to short to add one more run. Stinson then lined a single into center field for another two runs.
The redshirt freshman has been on a tear lately for the Nighthawks. He was named the PBC Freshman of the Week two weeks ago and has continued his hot hitting since then. He's in the midst of a team-leading 11-game hitting streak and has recorded at least one RBI in nine of those games. Four of those nine games have been multi-RBI games, including the last two. His third RBI of the day on Wednesday made it 13-6 with zero outs still in the seventh.
The Argonauts finally got Robitzsch to ground out after Stinson but three straight walks allowed in two more runs to make it 15-6 UNG. A wild pitch allowed one more run to score before Opata added insult to injury with a two RBI double to left center. He would score on a throwing error in the next at bat to cap off the 10-run inning and 19-run day for the Nighthawks.
The victory marks UNG's sixth in the last eight games and its sixth game with double-digit runs this season. The Nighthawks have posted eight or more runs in a game this season 12 different times already.
The team returns home this weekend for a three-game series with PBC foe Claflin. First pitch in the series is set for Friday, March 7 at 6 p.m. from Bob Stein Stadium at Lynn Cottrell Park.
