DAHLONEGA – The University of North Georgia (UNG) baseball team rolled to a 13-3, eight-inning win against Claflin at Bob Stein Stadium at Lynn Cottrell Park Saturday afternoon.
The Nighthawks (14-7, 4-1 Peach Belt) took the three-game series over the Panthers (5-11-1, 0-5 Peach Belt) after winning the first two games of the weekend.
Saturday's win came by virtue of six runs in the first two innings for the UNG offense and a solid performance on the mound from Nighthawk sophomore starting pitcher
Luke Earnhardt.
Despite giving up a run in the first inning, UNG took the lead in the bottom of the frame as an error in the field allowed two runs to score before a sacrifice fly from senior third baseman
Riley Frost made it 3-1 Nighthawks.
Earnhardt recorded a pair of strikeouts in the second inning as his offense supported him with three more runs in the home half of the inning.
All three runs came on one swing from Frost as he roped a three-run double to left center field that cleared the bases to make it 6-1.
Claflin added two runs in the third before Earnhardt settled in and faced the minimum seven batters over the next 2.1 innings to end his day with 5.0 innings pitched, three runs (two earned) allowed, two walks and six strikeouts. Earnhardt would go on to get the win and improve his record to 4-0 this season.
Three straight Panther errors in the fifth inning opened the door for two more UNG runs as senior catcher
Bryson Stripling brought a runner home a sac fly to left and junior shortstop
Jace Bowen knocked in one more on a single up the middle.
Both teams went scoreless until Bowen tallied his second RBI of the day with a sac fly to center field.
Bowen eventually ended the game in the eighth inning with a one-out, walk-off base hit to right center that brought in UNG's fourth run in as many at bats. The shortstop's third RBI of the game made it 13-3 in the eighth, ending the game via the 10-run mercy rule.
Bowen's 19 RBI on the season are third-best on the team this year are his 39 total bases and his .376 batting average. He was one of three Nighthawks to record multiple hits on Saturday as junior center fielder
Andrews Opata and redshirt freshman
Nicholas Stinson each recorded a pair of knocks. Bowen and Opata are currently tied for a team-high 12 multi-hit games on the year.
Stinson's two hits Saturday kept his 13-game hitting streak alive. It's the longest hitting streak for any UNG hitter this season.
With a lone walk against the Panthers, redshirt junior first baseman
Phillip Ard kept his own streak alive as the nation's leader in RBI (34) has now successfully reached base in all 21 games this season.
The Nighthawks will look to collect their third sweep of the season Sunday, March 9 when they take the field at 1 p.m. for the series finale at Bob Stein Stadium.
