CLEVELAND, Tenn. - The No. 9 University of North Georgia (UNG) baseball chipped away late but could not overcome a three-run fourth inning in a 6-3 loss to Lee on Tuesday afternoon.
Lee opened the game with a run in the home half of the first, but the Nighthawks answered in the second when Hunter Thompson lifted a sacrifice fly to right to score Kyle Robitzsch and tie the game at 1-1.
The Flames regained momentum in the fourth, plating three runs on an RBI double followed by a two-run single to take a 4-1 advantage.
North Georgia continued to battle, trimming the deficit to 4-2 in the fifth on Caleb Farr's sacrifice fly before Lee added another in the bottom half. Cam Hodge provided a spark in the sixth, launching a solo home run to right-center to pull the Nighthawks within two at 5-3.
Lee tacked on an unearned run in the seventh, and North Georgia was unable to mount a comeback over the final two innings.
On the mound, Ethan Finch (0-1) took the loss after allowing four runs over 3.2 innings. Cohen Rogers pitched 1.1 innings in relief allowing one run on one hit and recording three strikeouts. Ryan Taylor tossed two scoreless frames, and Chandler Thiel worked a clean final inning.
The Nighthawks (10-2, 3-0 PBC) return to action in Dahlonega with a Peach Belt Conference series against No. 19 Lander at Bob Stein Stadium on Feb. 20-22.
