Carrollton, GA - The 2015 regular season came to a close for the University of West Georgia baseball team in Jackson, Tenn. on Monday afternoon, as the Wolves finished off a dominating Gulf South Conference weekend with a 7-1 victory over the Union Bulldogs.
It was the fifth series sweep for the Wolves this season, as the Bulldogs joined Lee, Shorter, Mississippi College and Christian Brothers as teams that failed to win a game against UWG in GSC action this year. It was also the seventh series victory for UWG, but the most dominating one as well, as West Georgia outscored Union 22-2 over the course of the three-game series.
Both teams started slowly in Monday's contest, as UWG starter
Brandon Goldsmith and Preston Thompson were locked in a pitcher's duel for the first three innings, which included three no-hit innings for Goldsmith. But the Wolves got on the scoreboard first in the fourth, as
Payton Mann and
Dalton Rogers came in to score on
Walker Borneman's bases-loaded double.
The fourth was the big inning for the Wolves, as
Keith Buckhault opened the frame with a single, followed by
Tyler Hutch being hit by a pitch.
Artemis Kadkhodaian attempted to moved the runners over with a sacrifice bunt, but the Bulldogs got Buckhault at third.
Dalton Rogers then hit a rocket to second that was bobbled and Hutch came in for the third run of the game. Later in the inning, with another run in the barn for the Wolves and two runners on,
Troy Brown singled to right, scoring
Garrett Hayes and Rogers to give the Wolves a dominating 6-0 lead.
That was all the UWG pitching staff would need, as Goldsmith was dominant on the afternoon. The junior tossed eight innings of four-hit ball, allowing just one unearned run and striking out five.
Tyler Gunnin came on in the 9th to close out the game, working a perfect inning and picking up a strikeout.
Six different Wolves scored on the afternoon, with Mann and Brown each picking up the only multi-hit games on the day. Mann was 3-for-5 with a run scored and Brown went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI and two walks. Rogers was 1-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI as well.
Head coach
Skip Fite and his charges will spend the rest of the week in preparation for the Gulf South Conference tournament, which begins this weekend in Livingston, Ala. The Wolves will face-off as the third seed in this year's tournament against fourth-seeded West Florida in the first round, with the first pitch scheduled for 8:00 p.m. on Saturday evening.