UWG Baseball Sweeps Savannah State

UWG’s Baseball swept the Savannah State Tigers last weekend, winning all three games of their series. The games were shifted to a single game on Saturday with a delayed start, and a double header Sunday due to weather.   

Savannah State recently dropped down to NCAA Division II after a stint at the Division I level.  This posed a competitive weekend for the Wolves, against a strong program. The Tigers scored in the first inning of game one against starter Taylor Bosclair.  UWG’s Joseph Hill would quickly respond with an RBI double after a lead-off single from John Michael McCrae and a sacrifice bunt from Jason Fointno.

A pitching duel proceeded in the second and third innings with no runs being allowed by either team.  The Tigers broke that in the fourth with a couple of hits pushing a run over.  However, the Wolves answered with three runs in the bottom of the fourth.  Fointno had a two run single and Barnes had an RBI as well.  The Tigers went on to score three in the fifth, and another in the sixth, taking the lead (6-4).

The rally began for the Wolves during the seventh inning. Relief pitcher Cory Bartholomew came in to retire the first three batters he faced. Offensively, his teammates backed him with RBI singles from Jermond Williams, Lane Griffith, and Dan Oberst. Fointno would later score on a wild pitch, giving the Wolves a comfortable lead. Sawyer Steele closed out the game only allowing one batter to reach base, securing a 9-6 victory for the Wolves. 

Robert Coleman got the start for UWG in game two.  The junior out of Mobile, AL battled for five innings, shutting out the Tigers in the first two innings completely.  Coleman ended his work for the day by allowing six runs, accumulating three strikeouts, and recording his first win of the season. 

Offensively, the Wolves got off to an early start scoring in the second inning.  Griffith singled, pushing Joseph Hill over the plate.  Savannah State fired back in the third scoring four runs, including a three run home run.  

The Wolves rallied once again in the bottom of the third inning to push three runs across the plate.  Oberst singled to pick up a pair of RBIs, and Hill followed up with another.  Griffith scored in the fourth after a Brody Wortham double.  Barnes picked up another run with a ground-ball RBI which allowed Wortham to score, with UWG taking back the lead..

Savannah State tied the game back up in fifth with a single run.  UWG took the lead back with another run scored by Wortham, driven in by a Barnes RBI double. C.J. Fehriback took the mound in the sixth for three innings of work, not allowing any earned runs.  The Wolves scored one more time in eighth, making the score 9-6.

The Wolves came together for a big double play in the eighth to stop a late rally by Savannah State with two on base and one out.  Hill connected with Wortham and Oberst, resulting in the inning ending. 

Sawyer Steele came in again to close the game out, facing four batters, allowing no runs, while picking up his first save of the season. The Wolves took the first two games of the series, with momentum  leading up to the third game. 

Ryan Parker took the mound for the start of game three to close out the series. The senior threw a seven inning complete game allowing two earned runs. Parker improved his record by picking up his           second win of the season

The Wolves got off to another early start scoring three in the first and second innings.  An RBI double by Oberst, followed by a hit driving in two contributed in the first. McCrae then doubled in Wortham, and Oberst brought him in with a big homerun in the third.

Savannah state scored two in the third shortening the gap to 6-2.  The Wolves fired back with a big five run fourth inning with hits by Ethan Brant, McCrae, Moore, Hill, and Wortham making the score 11-2. While Parker continued to throw shutdown innings against Savannah State hitters, the Wolves continued to lengthen their lead.  

In the fifth, Joe Hill picked up two more RBIs by driving in Oberst and Dylan Johnson. No runs were scored by either team after the fifth. Parker picked up the win with a final score of 13-2.