Baseball Picks Up Pair of Wins on Opening Day

The UWG baseball team gets the season started with two big wins on Feb.1 at Cole Field against Eckerd College.

Taylor Boisclair got the start for game one, leading the team for 4.1 innings, facing 18 batters and only allowing two earned runs on five hits.  The senior out of Alto, GA, was scoreless for the first four innings allowing the Wolves to build a 3-0 lead.

Dan Oberst drove in the first run of the season after back-to-back walks put runners on base in the first inning.  Jermond Williams and Oberst led the offense with a few big at bats resulting in the teams first home runs of the season.  Oberst went deep into right field in the sixth, Williams followed that up with a blast to center field in the seventh.  

“I was really just looking for something good to hit,” said Williams after a three RBI night. “These last few weeks I’ve just been working on staying on pack, waiting for good pitches.  He gave me a good pitch and I just went with it.” 

Tyler Garner took the mound in the bottom of the fifth to ease a rally with the bases loaded, forcing a double play ending the inning. Garner stayed on the mound for 2.2 innings, only giving up one earned run on two hits. C.J. Fehriback came in during the 8^th for a single out, and stayed to close out the game, only giving up one run. Fehriback picked up the save and Garner received the win.  

Offensively the Wolves dominated with big hits and smart base running.  Williams put up three RBI, Oberst, Colin Moore, and Brody Wortham each contributed with two RBI each. Brady Barnes and Jason Fointno each drove in a run as well. Game one ended with the wolves winning 12-5.

Junior Robert Coleman got the start for game two, battling through five innings, with Eckerd scoring three times in the first three innings. Dylan Johnson blasted his first homerun of the season, with  Joseph Hill and Fointno putting in two more RBIs to tie the game up. Eckered fired back with a single run being scored on reliever Ryan Parker, regaining the lead from UWG. 

In the bottom of the 6^th, Fointno, Wortham, and McCrae rallied to help the Wolves take the lead 6-4, which gave them confidence leading into the last innings. 

Sawyer Steele came in to close out the final inning, shutting down Eckerd with no hitters reaching base.  Steele gained his first save of the season and Parker picked up the win for his efforts in the 6^th. Game two ended with the Wolves winning 6-4.

“Eckerd is a very good baseball team,” said Head Coach Jeff Smith. “They were in a regional last year. It was a tough day because of the weather, but we did what we needed to do and got two wins.”

This was Smith’s official debut as UWG baseball’s head coach. The team hopes to improve this week throughout practice and carry their confidence of opening weekend into the rest of the season.