DAHLONEGA – The No. 13 University of North Georgia (UNG) baseball team plated 10 runs across the sixth and seventh innings to pull away from Auburn Montgomery in a 12-5 win on Tuesday night at Bob Stein Stadium.
The two teams were knotted at zero through the first two innings. A pair of heads-up throw downs from JD Coleman to second stopped a pair of stolen bases from the Warhawks and kept Auburn Montgomery from scoring early.
With the bases loaded, the Peach Belt Conference Player of the Week Brody Yeomans broke open the scoring in the bottom of the third with an RBI single to score Coleman. Schley Gordy followed that up with another base knock to bring home Ben Hamacher and leave the inning with a 2-0 lead.
The Warhawks had an answer in the form of a two-run homer in the following frame to even the game back up at 2-2.
Auburn Montgomery threatened to score again in the top of the fifth with a pair of runners in scoring position. Avery Brown came out of the bullpen and steadied the ship for North Georgia, leaving the Warhawks stranded on second and third without bringing a run home to close out the inning.
After a scoreless fifth, the Warhawks took their first lead of the game off the bat of Landon Baeder to score Luke Turner and push the score to 3-2.
The Warhawk lead did not last long, as Gordy sent a two-run shot over the left-field wall for his third home run of the season to recapture the lead in the sixth.
The Nighthawks continued to work in the home-half of the inning. After Coleman placed a pair of runners in scoring position, Hamacher was able to reach first on an error while Jake Streeter and Jake Prince came home to double Auburn Montgomery's score. Brady Skipper followed that up with a triple to score Hamacher from first, and the Nighthawks left the inning on top 7-3.
North Georgia continued to dominate, plating five more runs in the bottom of the seventh. Four-straight hits from the Nighthawks to lead off the inning scored a pair of runs to extend North Georgia's advantage.
A wild pitch from the Warhawks brought another North Georgia run home, pushing the lead to seven. Streeter's third hit of the night and a bases-loaded walk from Skipper plated two more runs, cushioning the Nighthawks' lead at nine.
The Warhawks found some momentum with back-to-back homers to lead off the eighth inning, but it would not be enough to overcome North Georgia's advantage on the scoreboard.
Yeomans, Gordy and Streeter all delivered three-hit performances tonight, while Gordy led the Nighthawks (19-5, 11-1 PBC) with three RBI in the victory. After tonight's performance, Yeomans has recorded four three-hit games over the last ten days to go along with 19 RBI and four home runs during that stretch.
On the mound, Brown secured his first win of the season, only giving up three hits and one run across two innings of work.
Auburn Montgomery (6-16) was led by Turner with three hits and a pair of home runs.
The Nighthawks will face off against Auburn Montgomery once more tomorrow afternoon at Bob Stein Stadium. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
