DAHLONEGA – The University of North Georgia (UNG) baseball team opened its weekend series against Claflin with a 14-7 win Friday night at Bob Stein Stadium at Lynn Cottrell Park.
The Nighthawks (13-7, 3-1 Peach Belt) have now won seven of their last nine games with the win over the Panthers (5-10-1, 1-4 Peach Belt).
Claflin kept the game close for much of the early stages as the Panthers tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the sixth inning with a solo home run from Anthony Hardy. Despite giving up the homer, his first allowed this season, UNG graduate right-handed starter
Pierce Williams was lights out in his third win this year.
Williams dominated the Panthers over the course of six complete innings as he allowed seven scattered hits, two runs and one walk. He tied his career in strikeouts as he K'd 10 Claflin hitters on the night. With Friday's performance, Williams now ranks in the top-8 in the conference in wins, earned run average (3.16), innings (31.1) strikeouts (37),fewest runs allowed (11), fewest doubles allowed (2) and fewest home runs allowed.
Offensively, Williams and the pitching staff were supported by a seven-run UNG outburst in the bottom half of the sixth inning opened the door for the Nighthawk victory.
After already recording an RBI single in the first inning, redshirt freshman
Nicholas Stinson added another RBI to his tally with a bases-loaded walk in the sixth to make it 3-2.
Sophomore left fielder
Kyle Robitzsch worked a walk behind Stinson to plate another run.
Senior right fielder
Jorge Arispuro was then hit by a pitch to advance all the runners once more and turn it to a 5-2 game with one out in the inning.
Freshman second baseman
Jake Prince cleared the bases completely with a triple down the right field line to break open the game at 8-2. Two walks and a hit batter later, Prince scored for UNG's ninth run in the game and seventh of the inning.
Despite giving up a run in the top of the inning, the Nighthawks added another three runs the next frame. All three runs came via a fielder's choice or a defensive error as UNG wreaked havoc on the basepath.
The Panthers went on a two-out rally in the top of the eighth to keep things interesting as they added four runs to make it 12-7.
However, redshirt junior first baseman
Phillip Ard iced the Claflin offense in the bottom of the inning with a towering home run to left field. Ard's seven homers on the season lead the PBC and rank in the top 25 nationally. He entered Friday's contest leading the nation in RBI with 34 before adding another on his solo shot on Friday.
Prince highlighted the day with four RBI on his triple and a bases-loaded walk.
Stinson extended his team-leading hitting streak to 12 consecutive games which is tied with Ard for the longest streak of any Nighthawk hitter this year. The redshirt freshman transfer is batting .393 with 18 RBI and a .452 on-base percentage this season. Stinson is one of only three UNG hitters (Opata - 1.128, Ard - 1.098) with an on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) above 1.000 this year.
The Nighthawks will now look to take the series from Claflin on Saturday, March 8 with a 2 p.m. start time in game two of the weekend slate.
